According to our clocks and calendars a new day starts at midnight. Why is this the system? Who actually starts their day at midnight? My friend Shawn works third shift and he doesn't even start his day at midnight; he starts it at 10pm. So I'm lobbying for a new "start-of-day" time. I've got two possibilities.
1.) Sunrise
This seems like a pretty natural option. When the sun comes up, off you go with your day. Plus, if we could all agree on this it might put an end to those people who get up at like 4am to workout and do an hour of bible reading and prayer just to make me look bad when I roll into the office just-on-time with my hair all askew. These are the same people who spew venomous non-truths like, "I'm a morning person." No your not. You're an overachiever and you're making the rest of us look lazy. This is the primary reason to vote for Sunrise as the official start of the day. I know my night-owl, creative people feel me.
2.) Sundown
This one is counter intuitive, but did you know that for Jews the day starts at sundown the day before. That's why Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday and carries through Saturday. How about this for a thought: when the sun goes down you stop working. This goes against most of what we have been taught. You start with a bang! You jump in and get going! But starting with rest makes all the sense in the world. It forces us to recognize that while we are not active, God still is. So when we work we are not "making things happen" as much as we are joining into the work God has already been doing. This is also why a Sabbath day is so important. When we stop working we recognize that the world doesn't revolve around us. It revolves around God. And when we do work, it is by God's invitation to join him.
2.) Sundown
This one is counter intuitive, but did you know that for Jews the day starts at sundown the day before. That's why Sabbath starts at sundown on Friday and carries through Saturday. How about this for a thought: when the sun goes down you stop working. This goes against most of what we have been taught. You start with a bang! You jump in and get going! But starting with rest makes all the sense in the world. It forces us to recognize that while we are not active, God still is. So when we work we are not "making things happen" as much as we are joining into the work God has already been doing. This is also why a Sabbath day is so important. When we stop working we recognize that the world doesn't revolve around us. It revolves around God. And when we do work, it is by God's invitation to join him.
