Dread. That's the most common of feelings around Monday. I don't meet many people who are really enthused by Monday or the thought of Monday morning. Monday morning alarm clock. Monday morning making sure the cat/dog is fed, the kids get off to school, the breakfasts, making sure the house is locked up, hoping the car starts, forgetting your coffee on top of the car and seeing it fall to the pavement with the cup shattering. Yuck! Who wants to start a day like that? Maybe the problem is the weekend. Maybe if we didn't have weekends (no matter what days of the week) we wouldn't have the Monday dread. Maybe...but I don't think so. There's something about that "back to the old rat race" that gets to us generation after generation. I don't really care how much you love your job, commute, or any of those things involved in Monday morning. They all have one thing in common. They signify the end of the weekend and the beginning of the work week.
Now some people have late starts to their work day while others have early starts. Let's concentrate on an 8:00 AM start. Eight AM starts on Sunday afternoon as we begin to turn our attention to the next week. We make sure we have clothes for the week (or at least the day) and do laundry if needed. We mentally (if not physically) check our schedules for whatever is happening on Monday and maybe even the rest of the week. Does the car have gas? Does the refrigerator have food for the week? Yes, Sunday is here but our minds are on Monday. It's not that this isn't good for us. It is good for us. In fact as Christians we are to be focusing on the future and not the past. We don't look back and say, "I wish I hadn't filled the car with gas." or "Why did I spend so much time doing laundry?" We look forward and say, "What do I need to do to be ready for tomorrow." Within the Christian church there is a focus on being ready for Sunday. Sunday is the designated day of worship for most churches. We're told that this is to be a day of rest. So, why don't we rest on Sunday? Because Monday is coming!
The Bible is fairly clear that we are to have a day of rest. That day of rest is to not work. The day of rest is not designated as a "day of worship" because Jesus said clearly that every day is to be a day of worship. Don't believe me? Read the first 4 books of the New Testament. We're supposed to be in a state of worship 24/7 and not 24/1. We are instructed to have an attitude of prayer all the time. We're asked to see the wonder of God's glory in his creation, his people, his provision...all the time! Should we accept such a Biblical principle, we would then understand that we don't prepare for Sunday at all. We then can have Sunday as a day of rest. Why? Because what we do on Sunday we are doing every day. If I have my coffee EVERY morning as I get going, why can't I put on Jesus every morning as well? With the ability to not go with the norm we can then rest on Sunday and know that on Monday we will not be dreading but we will be worshiping the Lord of all creation Jesus Christ.
Now it follows that if we are worshiping Jesus 24/ that we have given our lives to him. Not to our chores, cars, commute, that person in the cubicle next door, not to your boss or even your company. It is God whom we serve. It's his chores, his car, his commute, his person next door, his boss and he allows the company you work for give you a paycheck. Preparation for tomorrow should be focused on the latter rather than the former. Focus on doing what God wants in the time that he wants in the way that he wants allows us to have a life discipline based on His will rather than the will of others or ourselves. Don't get me wrong, there will be days when you worship and wonder where God can be found. It will seem that he isn't there with you. Neither is your boss. He/she spend time with other duties. The difference is that God is always aware of you, your needs, and your day. He longs to have you believe that "all things work for good for those who are called according to his purpose." Instead of bean counting for someone or some company; you are bean counting for Jesus. Instead of combating for a place in traffic you are sharing the road with Jesus. Instead of dreading communication with your cubicle neighbor, you are a messenger from God awaiting the right time to share Jesus.
Other people who don't know Jesus can go on dreading Monday. The believer who has committed their life to Jesus should look at each day with awe of what God is going to do. We know what he has already done.
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