When the Cow Went Dry

Whenever our cow periodically went dry back in the 40's, we no longer had milk for us kids. Necessarily, we began to drink store-bought milk in glass jugs until after the next calf was born. The store-bought milk was pasteurized, but not homogenized, so the cream floated to the top of the glass jars. The cream could either be stirred into the milk for drinking or poured off for use in coffee, cooking, or to make butter.

When homogenization was introduced (~1950), many people were upset. They suspected some of the more valuable cream was being removed by the dairy, because now it was impossible to tell how much cream was in the milk.

Only a couple of times did my parents need to buy essential milk on a Sunday. First of all, Mother always used weekdays to do all her shopping. Second, no stores were open on Sunday, except for gas stations, a few of which also sold milk and bread.

I've wondered this week about what God has thought of the past 70 years of our country's laws, morals, family life, etc. My conclusion is that God was most grievously offended beginning in the late 1940's and 1950's when "Keeping the Lord's Day" was abandoned. Until that time, 'Sunday closing laws' of the states restricted Sunday shopping except for necessary items.

Most Sunday closing laws (termed 'blue laws') were repealed or were ignored by the end of the 50's. Some argued that 'blue laws' were unconstitutional, and most Sunday closing laws were repealed or were ignored by the beginning of the 60's. The Supreme Court, in the case of McGOWAN v. MARYLAND, eventually decided in 1961 that

"The present purpose and effect of most of our Sunday Closing Laws is to provide a uniform day of rest for all citizens; and the fact that this day is Sunday, a day of particular significance for the dominant Christian sects, does not bar the State from achieving its secular goals."

As can be seen in the above statement, the Supreme Court had decided to ignore the religious foundations of our government and only rely on the "secular goals" of the State. Moreover, it was too late to reverse the established practice of people who found it convenient to shop on Sunday. In the late 1940s, there was only one A&P grocery story that opened for business on Sunday. Unfortunately, it attracted a lot of customers, and many other stores followed.

It didn't take long for a massive change in religious practice to occur so that the majority of U.S. citizens violated the Third Commandment. If they didn't violate it by working, they violated it by buying unnecessary goods and causing others to have to work on Sunday.

In 2000, Hobby Lobby decided to close all its stores on Sunday and remains almost the sole national chain that respects the Lord's Day. Even Aldi Foods, which formerly was closed on Sunday, recently opened its doors for business on the Lord's Day.