Would It Really Be So Terrible If America Stopped Shopping on Sundays?

Target. Lowe’s. Aldi. A whole lot of other major retailers are closing this year for Easter. And Target even said it out loud: they’re doing it so employees can prioritize the holiday and time with their families. Imagine that.

Can we just stop and ask ourselves—when did that become a radical concept?

When did we start treating it like some wild inconvenience to not be able to shop, eat out, or run errands on a Sunday? Seriously—would it really be so terrible if we couldn't swing by the mall, grab a latte, or do a Home Depot run on a Sunday? Would it be the end of the world if stores and restaurants were closed one day a week?

Because here’s what I’m starting to believe: we’ve forgotten how to be still. We've forgotten how to rest. And more importantly, we've forgotten what the Lord’s Day is even for.

Once upon a time—not that long ago, really—everything shut down on Sundays. People spent the day at church and with family. Not because it was trendy. Not because the government forced it. But because that’s what it meant to honor the Sabbath.

Now, people act like Sunday is just another day to hustle. But God gave us that day for a reason.

And let me take this a step further—because this isn’t just about tradition. This is about obedience. It’s about trust. Our Lord appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 1600s and asked that France be consecrated to His Sacred Heart. Why? Because they were profaning Sundays with servile work. He wanted it to stop. He wanted the King to lead by example. Spoiler alert: the King didn’t listen. And we know what came next for France.

Now look around—at our chaos, our confusion, our burnout, our division. We've built a culture on noise, busyness, and consumerism. We've convinced ourselves we’re too important to rest. And we wonder why we’re all so empty.

So I want to ask you—would it really be so bad if we shut it all down on Sundays again?

Would it be so terrible if people couldn’t spend their money for one day? If we couldn’t go out to eat or shop or scroll endlessly through a sea of ads and sales?

Would it really be so bad if we actually returned to the Lord’s Day—His day—and let it be sacred?

Maybe we’d find something we’ve been missing all along: peace. Rest. Connection. Time for grace to seep in. Time for families to remember they’re families, not just ships passing in the night.

What Target is doing for Easter this year? That shouldn’t be the exception. It should be the standard. Not just once a year. Every week.

We don’t need more time to spend. We need more time to receive. To sit. To pray. To just be.

Because the truth is, we weren’t made for seven days of work and zero days of reverence. We were made to rest in Him. And the sooner we reclaim that, the better off our souls—and our society—will be.