Sunday School Overview ~ May: Fulfilling Our Obligations to God and Society

By Adrian Grubbs

The Sunday School lessons this month conclude the Spring study, Social Teachings of the Church. The Christian Church has always had concerns about and been active in social issues for family, community, and the world. This month we turn our attention to our social obligations to God and society at large. We begin this study with a character we are very familiar with, Jonah.

The Book of Jonah was included in the Twelve books of the minor prophets (minor because they are shorter that Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). Jonah is different from all the other prophetic books, in that it is not a record of a prophet’s messages but the story of one man’s response to God’s call to be a prophet. We know the story well: Yahweh’s call to Jonah to preach to the corrupt people of Nineveh, his refusal, his encounter with the big fish, his submission to God, and his great disappointment that the wicked people repented and God mercifully changed His mind. But what do we learn from Jonah? For one thing, Jonah’s story is the story of the Jewish people following the exile. It is also our story, the story of the Christian Church. We have sometimes refused to take God’s message of mercy and compassion to the wicked people of the world, largely, because we feel that they do not deserve God’s grace. One key theme in the book is the word “repent,” meaning “to turn” – the sailors turned to Jonah’s God, the great fish re-turned Jonah to dry land in Israel, the Ninevites turned to Yahweh, and God mercifully turned from His intent to destroy the people of Nineveh. Will we turn to the people of the world and introduce them to Christ through our attitudes and interactions?

Honest work, productive labor, has been important to Jew and Christian since the very beginning. In Genesis 2:15 Yahweh gave the responsibility to humans to be caretakers of all God’s creation – not to be supervisors, but to do the work. So, how have we done, and how are we doing with that? Exodus 20:9 reminds us that God gave us six days to do our work. In John 5:17 Jesus declared that God is still working, so he continues to work. And in John 9:4 Jesus pointed out that we must work while it is day, while we have opportunity, because the time will come when work will cease. In Acts 20 and 2 Thessalonians 3 Paul testified that he always earned his own living rather than asking the churches for financial support.

Generosity is promoted throughout the Bible. Deuteronomy 24 requires God’s people to not be slack in paying wages when due, and not to be abusive or take advantage of migrants, orphans, and widows. That teaching is underscored in Ephesians 6 and adds that believers who are slaves are to labor honestly, dutifully, responsibly, and enthusiastically “as to the Lord”; also, Christians who command slaves are to have the same attitude and treat them fairly and lovingly “as to the Lord.” 1 Timothy 6 has a word for the rich: do not be haughty and put your hope in your wealth, but be generous and work for good.

Rest, relaxation, and recreation is also included in the Biblical work ethic; in fact, it is a command. The fourth commandment calls for keeping the sabbath as a holy day – holy means “set apart” – the sabbath (for Christians it is the first day of the week) is set apart from the other six days. The commandment stipulates that women, children, slaves, donkey, livestock, and migrant labor are not to be required to work on the sabbath (Exodus 20:8-10; 23:12; Deuteronomy 5:14). For the Pharisees, keeping the sabbath became a legal requirement, but Jesus pointed out that the sabbath was for people’s benefit (Mark 2:18-28); it requires bosses to give laborers a day of reprieve from work.

Matthew 28:18-20 has been proclaimed as The Great Commission, calling for some to step forward to become foreign missionaries. Actually, this text is a requirement for all Christians to be evangelists at all times and all places to all people. The command is not to make converts but to make disciples – make disciples by reflecting Christ, the image-of-God, in your life. They are to be baptized and taught Jesus’ commands. Hebrews 10 speaks of the need for all believers to meet together for fellowship and to worship God. It is important for Christians to assemble to worship God, if for no other reason than that He is God; He is always with us, and we need to take the time to thank Him and to praise Him. Also, we need the fellowship, the strength, the encouragement, and the discipline of other believers.