Thursday, August 8, 2013

James Malm: Is a Restaurant Table Within Your "Gates?"





The fun just keeps going on and on....
Ex 20:10 “In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. “

How about “within your gates”? Explicitly this means anyone on your property, but could it not also imply anyone within your personal realm of influence or space? When we sit down at a table within a restaurant, is not that table now part of our personal space? Do we not control that space at least temporarily? Yes, the restaurant owner ultimately owns the table, but they are allowing you to have it to yourself for a time, in return for monetary compensation. No one else is able to use that table while you sit at it. It is temporarily under your control for the time you use their services. “Within your gates” – could this not imply your personal table at a restaurant?

“Male or female servant.” A waiter or waitress is called a “server” for a reason. Are they not paid to serve you, the customer? Admittedly, you are not forcing them to serve you, nor are you their “master” in the sense of a master/slave /servant relationship.  But are you not influencing them directly to work on behalf of you and your party. 

“Yeah but I have no control over them. I’m not telling them to serve me.”

 Imagine: What would you do if you sat down at a table, and the server never came over to ask for drinks and take your food order? Would you not get up and ask someone to come serve you? Possibly get upset that no one came to take your order? The truth is, we do directly affect the actions and the amount of money the server and business owner makes that day, when we walk through the door.

2 comments:

Redfox712 said...

My word!! This Malm is losing his mind and we are seeing it happen.

How dare Malm try to twist "within your gates", which more reasonably minded people would say, "within one's property" to instead mean "within your personal space".

Anonymous said...

actually, he's right here.....if we make the decision to go out and eat, we are voluntarily hiring some one to work for us...it's the Pharisee that would say "well, they're not at my home so it doesn't count".....or, "I didn't hire them, the owner did".....

and given the fact that God says specificly not to buy food or wares on the Sabbath, there is no way around it....and those that truly want to do God's will know that and are happy to comply.