Sunday should be a day for rest

Editorial

POLAND is putting into effect a law which will gradually ban all commercial trading on Sundays.
Sunday is a day that Christian tradition typically recognises as a day of rest.
The ban is to allow employees to spend quality time with family and friends.
We say PNG is a Christian country and it would be a worth a try to go down that path.
The Bible speaks clearly on keeping the Sabbath holy.
Exodus 20:9-10 says: “Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
“…on it, you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.”
Here in PNG, on Sunday, we have shops open for trading, people shopping and sporting activities taking place just like a normal Saturday.
Another disappointment is the turnout at the National Repentance Day celebrated every Aug 26 around the country every year since its inception in 2011.
The idea is for a day of Christian prayer.
People should come to church to pray and ask the Lord to forgive their nation for all the wrongs they have done, but that is not happening.
Only a few mark this day while the rest take it as a holiday or one-day break from work.
This day allows everyone to seriously think about the future we want for PNG, the PNG we want for the next generation.
We have to make decisions, not for our children but with our children.
Religious values are not just private concerns about our salvation.
They are essential to our identity and our culture.
The same should be given for Easter and Christmas Day.
These holidays should be observed with great reverence as they are special days.
Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb on the third day after his crucifixion.
Remembering the resurrection of Jesus is a way to renewing daily hope that we have victory over sin.
It is a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and we mostly celebrate it as a family unit.
Many things are wrong with society, but a shortage of shopping opportunities is not one of them.
Some supermarkets open 12 hours midweek, and the big chains operate small stores that open whenever they like.
Credit cards can purchase anything at any hour online.
The ban on Sunday openings will affect larger retail players especially, who will see a drain on their revenues in increasingly deserted shopping centres on the edges of town.
Sunday is a symbolic day.
It is a religious day and even for those people who are not religious it was a family day, a home day.
To start off, it maybe for half a Sunday, then a full Sunday, then once every month, gradually leading to two, three and a full ban.
There will obviously be a lot of resistance to the idea with economist talking about lose of business and etc but it is worth the try.