Purpose of Sabbath

Hey everybody!

I was filling out a survey about my religious beliefs. Since I'm a Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA), I'm interested in why people do or don't do the "Sabbath observance" thing. (Sabbath observance is basically where you take a break from work and business and do something more restful or peaceful. For SDA people, it's specifically on Saturday, the seventh day of the week.) So, I filled out the survey with my opinions and everything. (I love expressing my opinions, I'm really self-absorbed. Or something.)

For one of the questions, they asked what I think Sabbath's purpose is, so I wrote this:

Sabbath is about doing something different. The day should feel BETTER, somehow—as a rest from monotonous tasks, instead of fear, a peace about the future, a calm through grief, and a strength through separation—a day different from normal weekdays. Someone’s decisions regarding Sabbath activities are very personal, so we shouldn't condemn others for them. The Sabbath isn't a rule set to hurt us, it's a day created for only our pleasure. When we don't observe it the right way, the restrictions WILL seem stupid. Why would you want to do stop weekday activities completely for a Sabbath observance when you were
in a weekday mindset? If we treat the Sabbath like a normal weekday, avoiding weekday activities WILL seem stupid, because we’ll be thinking of tasks we need to finish and subsequently wanting to take breaks with normal forms of entertainment and fun. None of that is relaxing in the form of God’s deeper peace—and THAT’S what Sabbath is supposed to give you.

It took a while to write it, so I think I'm happy with it. I wanted to put it here 'cause I felt that it explained Sabbath somewhat. It's a big deal in our church because lately it seems to me like nobody cares about it as much anymore, at least with my generation. I mean, I understand how people who are uptight about rules and tradition and religion are annoying, meddlesome, and sometimes don't have solid backing except that it's tradition. However, I think it's ALSO wise not to completely go out of control and break all the rules just because you feel like it, you know?

Well. That is a really complicated issue... church traditions and people leaving the church and uptight old people vs. the new generation YAY! I don't want to talk about it.