# What you would do if someone bought you food on the Sabbath?



## TheThirdandReformedAdam (Jan 18, 2017)

I ask this question because it happens to me quite regularly. I come out of a background where the concept of Sabbath-keeping is utterly foreign to the people around me. Only a small group of people understand my position on the matter and, as such, they refrain from asking me to work or purchase anything on Sunday. However, this does not stop them (and others, obviously) from purchasing me food on Sundays as a gift. So, what would you do in this situation?


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## Romans922 (Jan 18, 2017)

How does one purchase food for you? Do you mean, "Let's go to a restaurant and I'll buy you a meal." or "Hey I went to the grocery store today, and here's some milk."?


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## TheThirdandReformedAdam (Jan 18, 2017)

'Buy food' as in they bring you a cheeseburger from McDonald's. In other words, they show up to your place with the food already purchased.


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## Romans922 (Jan 18, 2017)

Sorry if I was misunderstanding the situation.  Also, I don't get why they would do such a thing. 

But secondly, if it keeps happening, I would gently thank them for their generosity, service, and kindness, but ask them to refrain from doing so in the future. I would tell them that I hold to the 4th commandment (if they don't know what it is, tell them), and then I would say that I believe keeping the day holy means not purchasing things from places or restaurants so that we may keep the day set apart from other days where we focus entirely on the Lord. I understand you may not be convicted about this, I invite you to look into the 4th commandment and study with me if you'd like, and again I thank you for how you have done this in the past for me, but if you could sympathize with my convictions please refrain in the future on the Lord's day to do this.

Or something like that.

Reactions: Like 1


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## TheThirdandReformedAdam (Jan 18, 2017)

Romans922 said:


> Sorry if I was misunderstanding the situation.  Also, I don't get why they would do such a thing.


 Well those who do this for me are family, and, by the way they act, I believe it is safe to conclude that they believe it is fine for me to eat food that has been bought from a restaurant so long as I was not the one who did the buying. In essence, they don't view the purchasing of food on Sunday as Sabbath-breaking, but they don't push me to do it so that I won't go against my conscience. To my shame, I have not taken a stance against them on this issue. Instead, I have simply refrained from Sabbath-breaking myself and eaten the food that they bought for me. I conjecture, to the best of my ability, that their thinking on the matter is something like, 'We are going to buy enough for us all to eat anyways, so you might as well eat.'


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## OPC'n (Jan 18, 2017)

When they hand you your next cheese burger say, "Yum! I love these things! Oh, I have something for you in return." then hand them a small read on the Sabbath just to wet their appetite. If they buy you another cheese burger, hand them a larger book on the Sabbath etc. I bet you'll win in the end

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## jw (Jan 18, 2017)

Context is important. Are you not being fed, otherwise? I would simply tell them that you appreciate the sentiment, but that you already have food prepared and ready for the sabbath day, so that you're not contributing to the unnecessary work of anyone for that purpose. This may foster questions, or it may not. But if they know you already have food for yourself, it seems it would be counter-productive for them to bring you more.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Herald (Jan 19, 2017)

If the food has already been prepared, eating it or not eating it is not going to keep the one who prepared it from having done so on the Sabbath. Factum est quod factum est. You could kindly explain your conviction on the Sabbath and ask them to honor your conviction. Hopefully that will put and end to it.


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