Some Days Are “Fridays”, But Most Days Are “Mondays”.

There are seven days a week, a large portion of people in the United States work Monday through Friday, so obviously those people, and the family of those people, look forward to Friday each week.  Friday is also a day when many people get paid; so place the coming weekend and the addition of receiving money for your work, Friday is a good day.  This is a known cultural phenomenon in our context, evidenced through such phrases as TGIF.  The phrase TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) was first largely presented through ABC’s Friday family-friendly broadcasting block dating all the way back to 1958 with shows such as “Leave it to Beaver”, “The Flintstones”, “The Brady Bunch”, “Full House”, “Family Matters”, and many more.  The phrase TGIF even inspired the name for the restaurant, “TGI Fridays”; Friday is viewed as a good day in which nothing can go wrong. 

           

Then there is Monday.  Under the previos explanation of the cultural workweek, whereas Fridays may symbolize everything that is right in the world, Mondays symbolize the polar opposite.  If you follow people on “Facebook” or “Twitter” you will notice a trend around 8 am Monday Morning of negativity that includes a variety of comments of “back to the grind” or “is it Monday already?” comments.  Mondays are not America’s favorite day; evidenced through the fact there is no restaurant named “TGI Monday”. 

In the Christian life there are many days that are “Fridays”; we are able to join in with the joys that the Lord has set before us.  However if we were to be totally honest with each other we would admittingly agree that most days are “Mondays”.  If we think back through the biblical timeline, there were many “Mondays” in the life of God’s people; whereas there are few “Fridays”.  In the book of Philippians, Paul was suffering a season of imprisonment yet says, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”(Phil 4); this sounds like Paul was having a case of the “Mondays” but chose to be content no matter what day of the week it might be.   

What’s my point?  In the Christian walk, some days are “Fridays”, but most days are “Mondays”; people get cancer, people lose their job, bad things happen; if our joy is dependent upon the circumstances of life, then we will never be joyful or happy.  We must learn to take a note from Paul in being content.  We are not content because every day is a “Friday”, we are content because we understand the truth of “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2). This truth drives our contentedness not to be subject to our temporary satisfactions, rather through our unbounding, overflowing, and Heavenly Joy of our Salvation!

Yes some days are “Fridays” and most days are “Mondays”, but with the joy of our salvation, what day it is, really does not matter. 

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.(Matthew 7:15 ESV)