TOO many enterprises are being booked for the Lord’s Day. Thanks to laws and customs established by the conviction of God-fearing people who laid the foundation of the American way of life, the Lord’s Day has been till now a day empty of ordinary pursuits and obligations. This made it a shining mark for the harassed planner who found six days all too short for the crusades, ceremonies, ovations, collecting campaigns, and other incidental things which seem to belong to the war effort as we practice it here in the United States. “War effort” and “defense” are magic words, and it is easy to steal the Sabbath. Protests from clergy-men strike a sour note to some. It sounds like “crabbing.” Complaint is answered by saying that people can still go to church if they want to: that they do not go anyway; that the Lord’s Day is the only day left for these extraneous pursuits, and so forth. We believe that some of this infringement upon the Lord’s Day is deliberate. The Sabbath has been a target for attack for a long time by certain elements. More of it is misguided zeal on the part of super-patriots, who cannot distinguish between values. Much of it is unnecessary, and a little good-tempered planning would stop it. Church interests should avoid the carping, censorious tone of complaint and personal injury. But, nonetheless, the fact should be stressed with earnestness, that if one single thing were to be made a symbol of the liberties we seek to defend, the Lord’s Day might well be that symbol. It stands for God, for worship, for rest, for individual initiative, for reading—in short, for liberty. On the other hand, nothing is more characteristic of the Nazi method than this organized parading, mass formation, radio haranguing, and other stage effects. It presumes a servile and childish mind.
Satan is a master in using self-interest as a weapon to further the interests of his kingdom and win the support of unthinking men and women. The above extract from the Covenanter Witness the organ of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. exposes this cunning scheme.