1. God worked for six days and rested on the seventh day. The Israelites called this the "Sabbath". By working and resting, God gave a "FORMAT" or "standard of operation" for humanity. It is so that we may value work as something good for the soul. But also taking time for God and resting from manual labor. And when we don't follow God's format, it doesn't hurt God, but only bring harm to one's soul.
For instance, I recall the few years of my priesthood. Being a new priest, I wanted to give my 110%. It's customary that priest take Monday's off and also have a month of vacation. But I was always on call and often people knock on the Rectory door on Mondays. I rarely took vacation time when I became a Pastor. I personally thought I didn't need a vacation. Recently I found myself being "burnt out" and feeling like I didn't want to do it anymore. It's because I didn't set any boundaries or limitations for myself and for parishioners. I learned the hard lesson that when I don't follow God's format, and God's way of ordering things, it doesn't hurt God. It can hurt us in the long run.
2. God's word from the Book of Genesis tells us that God is the Creator of everything. Some people may argue that God did not create the world and things just happened accidentally. Here's how I see it. The earth is perfect distance from the sun. If we were too close to the sun, we wouldn't be able to survive because of the heat. If we are too far away, we wouldn't survive because of the lack of heat. Creation is a thing of beauty and glorifies Almighty God. All we have to do is look outside our window and see how creation glorifies Almighty God the Creator.
3. God's word tells us human beings are created in the image and likeness of God. No other animals or landscape is created in God's image and likeness. That makes us very special and unique. If only we could spend time reflecting upon that concept. We are created in God's image and likeness. That would help increase gratitude for God's goodness. Church teaching says that we are created to have the gifts of intellect and free will. In other words we have the capacity to acquire knowledge and the capacity to love. God did not make us robots. Without free will, love and charity find no existence. But on the other hand, we have the capacity to do things that is against love and charity. Certainly that brings harm to one's soul and to others around us.
For instance, we know that wearing seat-belts is for safety when driving. When we choose not to, it doesn't harm God, but there's great potential harm for oneself in an unfortunate accident. God's laws and ways of ordering things are for our good, benefit and safety. Thanks be to God for being good and loving to us, for giving us the gift of life and creating us in God's image and likeness.
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