The Devil's Poker Match

After God finished creating the world, the devil challenged him to a poker match.  He proposed that they gamble for control of each of the seven days of the week.  Even though everyone knows that the devil cheats at poker, the Lord agreed to the challenge.  When they sat down at the poker table, the devil easily won the first hand.  One day of the week now belonged to him.  The angels gathered in the room began to get nervous.  The second hand, the third hand…before they knew it, the devil won six hands of poker, and only one day of the week remained up for grabs.  When it came to lay down their card for the last hand, God showed a royal flush and won the seventh and final day.  The angels, of course, were beside themselves with worry.  “Lord, why did you let the devil do this to you?  Your one day is nowhere near enough to counter the devil’s influence over the other six days of the week!”  God simply smiled at his angelic servants and replied, “Oh, one day a week is plenty for me.  If my people spend that one day enjoying my presence, they will want to be follow me the other six days as well.  Nothing the devil offers can compete with that.”

The Sabbath – the one day of the week that belongs to God – provides us with the opportunity to enjoy God.  Some of us remember the days of generations past when the Sabbath meant going to church in the morning, and then sitting inside wearing uncomfortable clothes the rest of the day, not allowed to play or do anything fun.  Hardly the way for youngsters to enjoy God!  The Lord designed the Sabbath as a day for us to enjoy the presence of God together as a congregation in the morning, and then to enjoy him individually or as families for the rest of the day.  When you plan your Sabbath activities, consider what you can do that will draw you closer to the Lord.  Ideally, you should celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday so that you can share it with your brothers and sisters in Christ in worship.  But if, like me, you have to work on Sundays, select another day of the week to enjoy God.

In Deuteronomy’s version of the Ten Commandments, the command to keep the Sabbath refers to the Israelites’ time of bondage in Egypt: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day” (Deuteronomy 5:13).  The Sabbath is a day of freedom that releases us from the bondage of our daily lives.  Perhaps for you, the other six days of the week are a rat race full of pressure, or a dreary routine of chores that never seem to end.  Maybe they are days of loneliness, frustration, and conflict.  Remember that these are the days that the devil won in the poker match, and this is the best that he has to offer.  Just as the Lord parted the Red Sea to release the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, he sends us one day every week to free us from our bondage to the worries and struggles of the other six days.  It’s up to us, then to decide to bring the devilish cares of the week into our Sabbath, or to carry the Lord’s blessing and presence with us through the rest of the week.