The Popeye-Chicken Thread got me to thinking:
Being a missionary on furlough means travelling and putting many hours on one's car and sleeping in a new town every night. If one's view of the Sabbath means no commercial exchanges at all, this severely impedes travel (since much of my travel is on Sunday). Should travelling missionaries and pastors then count this sort of travel to be an act of mercy or necessity?
I have never felt guilty for filling up gas, eating while on the road (when travelling long distances for missionary service) or sleeping in a hotel at night.
Also, some pastors have taken me out to eat after the Sunday service. In those cases, I have considered that it would be rude to decline and tell them that I would rather not violate the Sabbath because I am their guest and they are taking the trouble to help me eat (a necessary thing) on a Sunday and, to a certain degree, one's guest must fit in with the expectations and rules of those he is visiting. If I were to say, "No, I don't want to eat lunch with you and, p.s., I think you are breaking the Sabbath by inviting this travelling missionary to eat lunch after service" this would seem rude and inadvisable. In fact, I don't think the host is breaking the Sabbath anyway if he is feeding someone who truly needs fed on the Sabbath (even though I am sure that some would say that the host should make something from home rather than take the guest out).
I suppose I could carry 30 gallon gas drums (like one brother in NJ suggested) or I could pack a cooler and sleep in the car, but these efforts to avoid work on the Sabbath seem to produce more work than they avoid.
What would you advise regarding keeping the Sabbath while travelling on Sundays when doing ministry?
Being a missionary on furlough means travelling and putting many hours on one's car and sleeping in a new town every night. If one's view of the Sabbath means no commercial exchanges at all, this severely impedes travel (since much of my travel is on Sunday). Should travelling missionaries and pastors then count this sort of travel to be an act of mercy or necessity?
I have never felt guilty for filling up gas, eating while on the road (when travelling long distances for missionary service) or sleeping in a hotel at night.
Also, some pastors have taken me out to eat after the Sunday service. In those cases, I have considered that it would be rude to decline and tell them that I would rather not violate the Sabbath because I am their guest and they are taking the trouble to help me eat (a necessary thing) on a Sunday and, to a certain degree, one's guest must fit in with the expectations and rules of those he is visiting. If I were to say, "No, I don't want to eat lunch with you and, p.s., I think you are breaking the Sabbath by inviting this travelling missionary to eat lunch after service" this would seem rude and inadvisable. In fact, I don't think the host is breaking the Sabbath anyway if he is feeding someone who truly needs fed on the Sabbath (even though I am sure that some would say that the host should make something from home rather than take the guest out).
I suppose I could carry 30 gallon gas drums (like one brother in NJ suggested) or I could pack a cooler and sleep in the car, but these efforts to avoid work on the Sabbath seem to produce more work than they avoid.
What would you advise regarding keeping the Sabbath while travelling on Sundays when doing ministry?