What is Paul referring to here when he talks about one day being more sacred than another? For those with a Jewish background this was probably the Sabbath, though there might have been reference to certain feast days as well. I prefer the ESV translation to the NIV here. The NIV says “considers every day alike”, the ESV says “esteems all days alike”. We should value every day, we should be grateful to God for every day He gives us, and consider every day an opportunity to serve Him, trust Him, love Him. Now note that Paul does not say that one person is better than another, the key is to be settled in our own mind. So where does this lead the “Sabbath” or “Sunday”? This is a matter on which as Christians we seem to be utterly confused. There are some, though a decreasingly small number, who take a very strict approach to dealing with the Sabbath, though it is usually Sunday that they mean. At the other extreme some do not regard any day as special. In between most of us go to church on Sunday and consider it a bit special. In the Old Testament the Sabbath is one of the ten commandments, and neglect or abuse of the Sabbath is often cited as one of the main failings of Israel. When Jesus was on earth many of the clashes with the Pharisees centered around the Sabbath, and the Pharisees had a serious misunderstanding of the Sabbath. However, the Sabbath principle involved more than just one day, there were Sabbath years and Jubilee years. Whatever our own approach, we should value each day, and we should have times of rest. There are times when we just should just rest from our labours, knowing that everything is ultimately dependent upon God.
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