WORK ON THE SABBATH

But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, . . . nor your male or female servant . . . nor any foreigner residing in your towns.

       – Exodus 20:10.

The Sabbath is a central tenet in the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[1] Its biblical importance is reflected by the fact that its observance is one of the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:8–11). Its importance in Adventism is reflected by its place in the official name of the denomination: Seventh-day Adventists. The discourse about the Sabbath and its observance is therefore an integral part of the teaching, work, and mission of the IC. 

When it comes to the relations between church members and people outside the Church, it can sometimes be complicated to determine where the church members’s responsibility for the observance of the Sabbath ends. When it comes to the mining case, several points concerning the Sabbath should however be relatively obvious.

Working on the Sabbath in the Mines

First, the lack of discourse must be mentioned. The IC only started fairly recently to do business with other parties that involved work on the Sabbath. Here the EXCOM could have informed church members on what grounds the EXCOM believed such Sabbath work was justifiable. In connection to this, the EXCOM could have started a discussion about the Sabbath in this context. By doing this, the EXCOM would have respected the conscience and faith of church members by addressing the questions that such Sabbath work has obviously raised among many of them. But no such discussion has taken place. 

Second, it can be pointed out how clearly the Sabbath commandment states that one should not make others work for oneself on the Sabbath. Since modern work connections are multifaceted, it is important to use reason and conscience when evaluating where this precept applies. The IC has others run its mines for a fee to create profit. There is no vital need to operate the mine 24/7 all days of the week. The IC, however, does benefit directly from the mining being run full hours, and profits more the longer hours the mining is active, Sabbaths included. Here this precept of the Sabbath commandment applies: The IC has full control of on what terms the mining rights are leased. The IC could therefore arranged the contract conditions in such a way as to set an example for church members who face the same issue, namely how to observe the Sabbath in connection to their secular occupation. This the EXCOM chose not to do. 

Finally, it can be pointed out Eden is owed by two church members and is run by them. The company revolves almost completely around mining and even though others were in charge of mining and selling the minerals, those parties worked directly for Eden. It is thus clear that Eden was able to set the working hours, but the company clearly opted to keep the working hours unlimited, the Sabbath included. 

It seems that the basic message of the Sabbath was shunned, and because of this a powerful opportunity to witness about the Sabbath in a very visible manner in society was lost. The effect and message to society may prove the opposite: how important is the observance of the Sabbath to the IC if a company owned by Adventists operates on Sabbaths even when there is no obvious need or necessity?

[1] The General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, “§20 The Sabbath,” in “28 Fundamental Beliefs,” website of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Adventist.org, https://www.adventist.org/beliefs/, downloadable pdf at the bottom of the page.