Heaven knows we can be too zealous in legally prescribing Sabbath behavior. Robert Pelton did a little research on Sabbath laws still on the books in the U.S. His findings appeared in Presbyterian Survey.

Pastors in Bluff, Utah, are not allowed to eat onions from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the Sabbath.

Pastors are not the only ones with restricted menus on the Sabbath. In Wakefield, Rhode Island, citizens who eat garlic are prohibited from attending a worship service for four hours.

Better wash and wax the family heap if you intend to drive it to church in Redbush, Kentucky. The law in that community says it is illegal to ride an "ugly" horse to church. A statute like that might be applied to your wagon.

No Undies Please. A law in Tranquility, New Jersey, stipulates that the backyard clothesline be hung with no lingerie on the Sabbath - unless it is kept from sight by a fence at least six feet high.

The law in Bicknell, Indiana, and Lisbon Falls, Maine, prohibits the playing of checkers in public on the Sabbath. In Wolf Point, Montana, children are not permitted to play checkers, dominoes, or cards on the Sabbath, even within their own homes, "lest they acquire a taste for gambling."

It is illegal in Okanogan, Washington, to sit in a rocking chair on your front porch and read the Sunday paper during worship time at churches.

Pastors in Lowers Crossroads, Delaware, have the law on their side. They can press charges against people who "laugh out loud" during a worship service. In Ryan Crossroads, Alabama, pastors enjoy a similar prerogative. They have the right to dema, nd that people who eat peanuts in church either stand in the corner for the duration of the service or leave.

Many laws respecting Sabbath activity are downright silly, archaic, and not enforceable. Still, communities of unbelievers as well as believers would do well to protect one day of seven as a day of rest. God divided our weeks into seven days and decreed by word and example that we complete our work in six and rest on the seventh.

We bring a great deal of trouble and pain into our lives when we ignore the laws of God - and that includes his law regarding the Sabbath. Our ambition begins to consume us. We lose sight of God. We ignore our family, and our brothers and sisters in the faith. We no longer see the world as the arena in which to serve our Lord; instead, we see it as only a place where we can pursue our desire to get all we can while we have time.

More Work, Less Rest. According to a study done by Louis Harris and Associates, people today are working an increasing number of hours. Since 1973, the average work week has expanded from about forty hours to more than forty-eight. Free time per week has dropped from almost eighteen hours to about eight and a half.

Benjamin Hunnicutt, author of Work Without End, views this with concern. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, he says, "Something like a Theology of Work has ensued. Americans now tend to answer traditional religious questions (Who am I? Where am I going? What do I need to get out of the mess I am in?) in terms of work instead of traditional religions."

Trust God. God's appointment of a Sabbath helps us keep things in proper perspective. Letting our work go for a day and giving our attention to God helps us become a more discerning people. We are able to thank him for the blessing of work, which gives a measure of meaning to our lives. At the same time, we are able to see that total dedication to work is a form of idolatry which, like any other sin, becomes a master who demands much but pays little more than disappointment and ruin.