Inside Story: No Work, No Food: Part 6

Inside Story for Friday 8th of March 2024

By Andrew McChesney

After Sekule refused to work for several Sabbaths, his commanding military officer began to understand that he could not compel the young soldier to violate his conscience.

“So, you can’t work on the Sabbath in the army?” the officer said.

“That’s right. I can’t work on the Sabbath,” Sekule said.

“From Friday evening to Saturday evening?”

“Yes, I can’t work.”

“Then you can’t eat during those 24 hours.”

“Why can’t I eat?”

“If you’re not working, you don’t need to eat. Eating is working. Also, some of the food is prepared on your Sabbath, so you shouldn’t eat it.”

Sekule was eating only bread and drinking tea because the other military rations contained lard. But he agreed not to eat bread and drink tea that was prepared on the Sabbath. As a recently baptized Seventh-day Adventist, he wasn’t sure that food prepared on the Sabbath was off-limits. But he needed to give an answer that met the officer’s expectations. If he had refused to work but demanded bread and tea, the officer would think that he was being unfaithful to God.

Several months passed, and the military cooks began to cook one meal a week without lard. It was the only meal that Sekule could eat. But it was prepared and served only on the Sabbath.

Sekule prayed, “God, please, could You change the day from Sabbath to Sunday? Would You do that for me?”

He prayed for a month, and the lard-free meal was moved to Sunday.

Sunday happened to be a recreational day for the soldiers, a time when they could relax by playing soccer, basketball, and other sports. Sekule wished that the recreational day was on the Sabbath. It would be easier for him to refuse to play soccer than to refuse to work every Sabbath.

He prayed again. “I’m sorry, but could I ask You one more thing? Could You move the recreational day from Sunday to Sabbath so I don’t need to explain every Sabbath why I can’t work?”

A week after the lard-free meal was changed to Sunday, the recreational day suddenly was moved to Saturday.

Sekule Sekuli´c is an affluent entrepreneur and faithful Seventh-day Adventist in Montenegro. Read more of his story next week. Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the good news of Jesus’ soon coming in Montenegro and around the world.