Is it a sin cleaning up the house on Sundays?

Question:

I want to know if it is a sin cleaning up or doing the laundry on Sunday. I work and I have a two-year child. Often I need to do the laundry, to press or to clean up on Sunday. Is it a sin to always have a clean house and take care of your family?

To answer to this question, I must address several issues.

The day of rest – a divine commandment

The fourth of the 10 Commandments that God gave the people of Israel says:

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:9-11)(NASB)

God wants us to sanctify the day of rest and rest in it. At the same time, this day carries a profound significance.

The day of rest – the image of the rest that comes in Christ.

When He was on earth, Lord Jesus deliberately made his work in the day of rest, which aroused a great dissatisfaction among the religious leaders of that time and drew the persecution of the Lord Jesus. However, the Savior insisted to do His work on the Sabbath day, or the day of rest, just to communicate to people that the Sabbath was a shadow of the true rest which people can have only by faith in Him. During one of these discussions, the Lord Jesus said that He Himself is the Lord of the Sabbath, that is the Lord of the true Rest:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)(NASB)

It is a sin to work on Sunday?

There are certain things that some Christians consider to be sin, others do not give them any importance, and practice them, others even propagate them. In the Bible, these practices are called “opinions” and the Apostle Paul wrote about them so:

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. (Romans 14:1-6)(NASB)

See, if talking about opinions, the conviction that we have about them define whether it is sin or not, because if you do something against your own conviction, you sin by this.

Sunday is the Day of the Lord

In the New Testament, Sunday is called the Day of the Lord. In this day all Christians gather to worship God and to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is difficult to celebrate this day for one who has not experienced the forgiveness of Christ, but s/he does so only because s/he has inherited it from their parents or because it is part of a Christian people.

Seek first the kingdom of God

The body needs a day of rest in a week. We all know that for a woman with a family and children Saturday is loaded with more work and responsibility than other working days of the week. The fact that you do not manage to do all things and you have to work on Sundays too, makes me understand that you are tired both physically and spiritually. You need the rest that only the Lord Jesus Christ can give you. He also said:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)(NASB)

Find a church where the Word of God is preached and start attending the worship service every Sunday, together with your children and spouse, and if they do not want yet, go alone. In this way you will start seeking the kingdom of God and all things shall be added to you. God will arrange things so that you will succeed to finish with your responsibilities during the week and Sunday will be a day of rest for soul and body. God may help you so.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru