Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

I never quite understood the term, “to look a gift horse in the mouth”, until I looked it up on line. Having virtually no knowledge about livestock, I never knew that the age of a horse could be determined by looking into its mouth. How this particular saying came to its current use by such a comparison is anyone’s guess, but my understanding has always been that it is considered poor form to receive a gift and question its intent or usefulness or the gift-giver’s ulterior motive, if any. I suppose that’s part of the reason why I hate to be asked what I want on any particular gift-giving occasion. It’s not that I expect that anyone who knows me should be able to know what I want, and I certainly do not want anyone thinking that I EXPECT a gift at all. It is that I’ve always believed that any gift given, regardless of its perceived, inherent, or cash, value should be received by anyone “as is” with a mind toward another old saying, “it’s the thought that counts.”

Indeed.

In the continued journey through the Law, and specifically the so-called “Ten Commandments”, we have moved through the Lord’s introduction of Himself and the expectations He has of His people. And even though there are many who view the remainder of these “Ten” rather negatively, it is my intent to show the grace and the mercy which comes from these “thou shalt not’s” not because I think we need to search for an angle but because of the incredible gift which has come to us from Above through these words.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
Exodus 20:8-11 NKJV

So can this be received as a gift when it seems to be presented as a commandment, an absolute? According to Scripture, the penalty for its violation is death. It is funny to me (and I am among the guilty though still trying to work it out) to listen to those who insist that these are not the ten “SUGGESTIONS” while they feast on Sunday at a restaurant where all the “servants”, male and female, are working diligently to try and keep up with the Sunday “church crowd”. As with the others, this particular commandment has the potential to go far beyond the mere words that are written on a page.

Jesus was challenged often on what the true meaning of Sabbath really was in the context of pharisaic teaching, and Paul comes very near to suggesting that these words are meaningless to us now since we are in Christ. “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:16, 17 NKJV

I respectfully take exception to what Paul suggests or at the very least, I take exception to our common interpretation that our New Covenant seems to disregard or conflict the Old. “The Lord spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.” Exodus 31:12-14 NKJV

Do we live in such a “new” economy that refraining from work of all kinds is just not realistic? And if this is true, has the Lord relented from His command that we rest? If so, who then is authorized to speak this new word? I work for a trucking company which operates 24/7. It might seem unrealistic that the company should just cease operations for a full day, yet the law restricts the number of hours drivers may operate in a defined period of time. This same law even mandates a day off when too many hours have been used though the law does not demand that all drivers shut down at the same time. There isn’t enough parking space in the entire nation to accommodate that kind of mandate!

Farmers and ranchers have the same type of challenge, especially at harvest time. What is realistic for them? I said earlier that I know very little about livestock, but I do know they need to be fed. Is Sunday a day in which livestock can go without being fed? These are not pets. For the most part, they have to be maintained so that come market time, a fair price can be had. For the farmer and harvest time, that fair market price fluctuates sometimes so wildly that if they are not in a position to sell, they could lose fuel money which is substantial. However, it is written in Exodus 34:21 that “six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.” There does not seem to be an exception; there is only reality.

There are more retail stores and restaurants open than closed on Sunday now. What would happen to our economy or to our lives if the MALL were closed on Sunday? What would people do with their time, for heaven’s sake? The retailers would take a big hit for sure, and those who need the extra hours might take it on the chin come payday for losing a days’ work. The state would even take a big hickey over lost revenue from sales taxes paid.

But what would we really be losing and not gaining if we were to have the courage and the faith to live according to the written Word? How much of an adjustment would become necessary so that there wouldn’t be a recession? I think it’s already happening at Christmas time where people may not be so inclined to spend so much money. Somewhere adjustments have to be made, but the bigger question is whether or not we have the faith to see it through.

I don’t think the economy will run us over if we fail to go an entire day without spending any money, and I don’t think our lives will be ruined if we spend an entire day with our families just relaxing. Of course this is all easy for me to say since I don’t have much money and I hate shopping anyway. If there is indeed such a thing as the Catholic doctrine of purgatory, I should like to believe that the PUNISHMENT phase of that particular state would be perpetual shopping!

However, it is not the shopping in and of itself that is the problem. The problem is with those who are compelled to work because of our demands. And work in and of itself is not necessarily the problem. It is, I think, rather a compulsion to do something that we may well need a REST from because what some might consider to be “work” is actually “leisure” for others such as working in the yard, which I happen to enjoy - sometimes. This, I think, is the key to what the Lord’s word in this is all about.

As with any of the Commandments, our first approach must be as it is when we approach this list in the first place. We must recognize the Divine Wisdom that is contained within each one. Examining each of these with such a perspective can help us to get beyond the “thou shalt not” that may come from an angry, vengeful, distant, and self-serving god (or the men who wrote it) and see that there is a God in Heaven whom Jesus called “Father”.

We must also realize that even in our individuality, there is still a commonality in which mankind – which would imply ALL – was created in the Image of our Creator. As such, the Divine Wisdom which calls out to us from these words is the Wisdom which knows of our limitations. This Creator, this Divine Designer, knew then just as He knows now that the human body and mind have limited capacity to function before we become so overwhelmed that we simply “crash”.

A wise Father knows best. We are to obey this commandment as a sign of a Covenant made by the Holy Father, a Covenant that – like all the others – distinguishes us from the rest of the world. It is a day of rest. It is a day, a HOLY day, of worship. It is a day of respite from the busyness of the world so that we can focus on our Holy Father and regenerate our own spiritual batteries. It is a day of Sabbath, of rest. It is a day of focus.

It is a day of renewal.