DeYoung: Homework on Sunday?
I’m currently reading this great little book from Kevin DeYoung. What he describes here resonates with me — I adopted the same practice. Though I often did in high school, in university and seminary I never did homework on the Lord’s Day — and never regretted it either!
When I was in college and seminary, I made what was a bold decision at the time and committed, along with a friend, that we would not do homework on Sundays. No reading assignments. No papers. No studying for tests. It meant rethinking my Saturdays, which meant being more thoughtful about my Friday evenings. I couldn’t sleep till noon on Saturday, watch football, hang out with my friends all day, and go out to a social event at night and then play catch-up on Sunday. I had to make pretty drastic changes. But I never regretted the commitment. Setting aside Sunday was a habit that served me well throughout all my studies. Sunday became my favorite day of the week. I was freed up to go to church more than once. I could go on a long walk or read a book or take a nap. The day became an island of get-to in an ocean of have-to.
How many of us think, “You know what? Life is a little underwhelming. I’m not very busy. I wish the days could be more crowded. I wish life could be more hectic.” Very few people think that way. So don’t you want a day where you can say no to many of the oughts in your head? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a day of freedom, one day in seven where the other six days have no claim on you? (p. 75)
