Generally, when you work on Sunday, you make 1.5 wages. If I make $8/hr every other day of the week, I make $12/hr on Sunday. It's enough to make you want to go to church and thank Jesus for the extra half loaf of bread... oh wait... you can't go... you're at work.
Since I decided to go to seminary, I have told every employer that I will work on Sunday BUT only after service is over. I usually give myself an hour or two after the official time of the service's end just to be safe and so I can enjoy fellowship. Who wants to miss out on some of those goodies?!? While most employers say they are okay with that (Federal regulations state that a person cannot be made to work during times of religious observance), some make sure you know that religion and the workplace do not co-exist. One employer switched the mandatory meetings for all staff to Sunday mornings well after my employment. While I'll never why this person did it, I do know that my absence was always questioned. Perhaps my lack of attending those meetings for a prayer meeting in my sanctuary was evangelism - I don't know.
I do think it's right to require extra wages on the Sabbath, which should be a day of rest. For Christians, that day is Sunday. (I'm a little jealous of my Jewish friends who get paid extra and still have a Sabbath day.) There should be some incentive to closing the doors a little early when people should be spending time outdoors and with family. It should not stand like any other day in the week.
Here's the problem, it's alluring. Knowing that I was making some extra money for the same thing I do every day was intoxicating. I could make about 20 extra dollars in one shift. While that may not sound like much, it sounded like a gold mine to me. Those $20 represented a little extra space in the form of paying my bills a little easier. I could possibly spend it on some much needed entertainment in my life - life is supposed to be enjoyed after all! I could even start to use it in a new fund, which will support a vacation I really want to take. Before I had even earned it, my money was spent, and I realized I was gambling with my time AND my money.
I have made a commitment to attend church first and then be available to assist my employer and coworkers. I know not everyone feels that is possible - they may think it a luxury to have a religious observance. In the end, do we discourage people from honoring God and the Sabbath by dangling a carrot of money in front of them? Do we show them Caesar's face and provide promises only God can give? This will make you happier. This will give you freedom. This will let you enjoy life. Is this legal exploitation? If I had a job that paid me more on a consistent basis, would I still be willing to go into work on Sunday, or would I be willing to forgo that extra monetary incentive in favor of a little rest and time with loved ones? It makes me a little sick to participate in it, but I'm caught too. $20 sounds like so much money right now. If I have already taken the time to worship and honor God, can I still hold my head high and work for Caesar? Can the Sabbath be parceled?
I'd like to say that I can still hold my head high and that I'm not parceling the Sabbath. I have sacrificed that which could bring me comfort to be with God in those (late) morning hours. By saying I won't work during service and fellowship times, I want to believe that I am still honoring the Sabbath - I mean, farmers still have to work on Sundays because cows do not milk themselves! My comfort is that I try to take the lessons I learned at church that day and bring them into the workplace. It's not the "in your face" evangelism I think many of us have come to expect. I don't pass out tracts or say "God bless you" to people, but I do smile. It does actually make people wonder what you are up to - they want to know your secret. I talk to the children and entertain the little ones while Mom or Dad is digging out the form of payment. I let the angry and impatient customer know that the person who took 40 items into the express checkout lane (which is 12 or less) has now left, and my full attention is in the present with him or her. The person in front of me is the most important person at the moment. I'd like to think that's how Jesus would have handled working on the Sabbath - taking care of the needs of the people in front of him and in the moment.
I still feel uneasy about 1.5 wages and Sunday. I do the best I can, and I think there are many people who are doing the same thing. Perhaps not shopping on Sunday is something people can try next Lent. We could try not doing it for one Sunday and see how that goes. We could remove the incentive for stores to be open on Sunday, and then everyone could get a nap in while football plays on the TV.
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