p. 16 | Sabbath-Day Travel by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 26, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 33.

Sabbath-Day Travel.

By Editor

"F. K." asks: "Is it right for a Seventh-day Adventist to hitch up his team and drive, or to take his boat and row, seven or eight miles to meeting on the Sabbath?"

It certainly is right for a Seventh-day Adventist if it is right for anybody, and there are principles by which our friend can decide that matter as well as we. Is it right to go to meeting on the Sabbath? It is, for the day was set apart for the worship of God. But if one goes to meeting he must either walk or ride, and either one involves labor. This labor is allowable; for the commandment forbids doing only our work on the Sabbath, and attending religious worship is a part of our service to God. But though it is in the Lord's service, the work should be reduced to a minimum, and therefore we must go in the way that will involve the least labor. If the meeting is very near, walking would be the easier method of going; but if it is at quite a distance, it would involve far less labor to drive. With many, walking a long distance would be an impossibility. If the meeting is on the opposite side of a body of water from one's residence, common sense would say that the family must go by boat if they have such a conveyance. If the meeting is at a distance on the same side of the water as one's residence, he may go by boat if that is the only conveyance he has, or if it involves less labor than driving a team. The whole question rests on whether or not it is right to go to meeting on Sabbath. That it is right, is taught by the Scriptures. We would be glad if those who think that it is wrong to ride to meeting would tell us just how far it is allowable to walk to meeting, and if it is wrong for the very young, the very old, and the feeble to attend meeting.