What is life without a little controversy? Pretty dull, in my opinion. That’s why I think we actually need some controversy from time to time. In fact, my middle name is “Controversy.” Actually, it’s Daniel, but that’s neither here nor there. As I sat thinking about what to compose for today’s entry, I ranged from a poetic exposition of my son’s most recent snowman still standing a sidewalk sentinel in the searing coldness of an arctic front, then drifted to various other thoughts. I decided to discuss a topic that will hopefully stir up a little healthy controversy. Don’t worry. If I step on your toes, I’ll try to be gentle.
There are a few services that you can expect to be low in attendance. Last night was one of those services: Super Bowl Sunday. All across the country many people decided to stay home from church in order to watch the “Big Game” with friends, grab some pizza or buffalo wings, and enjoy the thrill of the game and the commercials. And, of course, there were some churches that gathered together to watch the game, using halftime to preach a “half-sermon,” witnessing to the throngs of people who decided they’d rather go to God’s house to watch a football game rather than sit in the comfort of their homes and watch the same game.
I do not begrudge those who have a love of sporting events. Still, I do not think it’s right to stay home from church just to watch a game. Many people don’t see anything wrong with it at all. Well, allow me to explain my thoughts.
Those who decide to forego church services and opt to stay in and enjoy the game will usually say, “It’s only one service. We have three services a week, which comes to 156 services a year. Staying home to watch one game isn’t that big of a deal.” Sure, 155 services out of 156 is a pretty good record. But here’s the thing: those who decide to stay home to watch “just one game” will often find other excuses for missing church.
I point this out because of the precedent which is set. Your family, your friends, your church sees your decision and comes to the conclusion, “Football is more important to them than church.” Maybe it’s not. “How dare you judge me?” you might be saying about now. I’m not judging you at all. I am merely pointing out my own views on the matter. In my experience, those who decide to stay home and watch the game once a year will very often find other “one time things” to keep them from the remaining 155 regular services. Maybe it’s a concert, vacation time, parties, conferences, work, whatever. Soon that 155 drops to 107, then to 84. Instead of being faithful to their commitment to the Lord, they spend their time thinking of all the other things they could be doing instead.
When it comes down to it, I guess it is a matter of commitment. I don’t say that because I’m a pastor and I’m expected to be there every service. I want to be there. Jesus didn’t take a day off with me, and I don’t want to take a day off with Him. Throughout my life I was taught that Sundays and Wednesdays were days set aside to worship the Lord in church. And just because I’m a pastor doesn’t mean that there aren’t things I’d like to do on a Sunday or Wednesday. I’ve had to miss some “important” things because they fell on church days.
There comes a time in the life of every Christian when hard decisions have to be made. As I said, there’s nothing wrong with a good sporting event, a nice concert, or whatever. But when those events fall on a day set aside for the worship of the Lord, we need to prioritize. We cannot be guilty of saying, “It’s only one time; God will understand.” Even when there are other things we would like to be doing, we need to show where our commitment really lies.
Why do I say this? Because lives are at stake. Whether we realize it or not, people are indeed watching the way we live our life. How do we want our children to grow up? Do we want them to see their parents putting things before God, saying, “It’s okay if there’s anything else you’d rather be doing,” or do we want them to see what that what we say is the way we believe, that God really does come first?
Perhaps you think I’m totally off base. Perhaps you think I’m a fanatic when it comes to church, that I’m overly sensitive about attendance and commitment. But to me, I cannot justify skipping out on the Lord when I consider all He’s done for me throughout my life, even if it’s “only one time.” It’s not a big stretch to see that sin and backsliding begin this same way. We decide to forsake what God tells us to do, justifying it by saying, “It’s only one time. No one will get hurt.” But then we discover that we’ve drifted far further than we ever intended to go.
There are times we simply cannot avoid missing church, due to illness and the like. But every time we have the opportunity to work for the Lord, serve Him, worship in His house, we should take it. There may come a time when we wish we could and will not be physically able. We may reach a point when we want others to come to church, but they say, “Well, you didn’t think it was all that important, why should I?” Then what defense do we have?
In the final analysis, one concert, one game, one party does not compare to the eternal, spiritual benefits that even one church service brings. Am I overstating or even over-simplifying this matter? All I can say is that, for me, nothing is more important than what the Lord expects of me, and that is my very best. I may fail in that regard, but I want to do my best. When I see that I’m not doing my best, I want to fix it. I guess what I’m ultimately saying is that all of us need to honestly evaluate our spiritual condition, lay our opinions and excuses aside and see what’s really going on in our mind and heart. When we do, we might not like what we see, but at least we have the opportunity to change it.
© 2007, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
There are a few services that you can expect to be low in attendance. Last night was one of those services: Super Bowl Sunday. All across the country many people decided to stay home from church in order to watch the “Big Game” with friends, grab some pizza or buffalo wings, and enjoy the thrill of the game and the commercials. And, of course, there were some churches that gathered together to watch the game, using halftime to preach a “half-sermon,” witnessing to the throngs of people who decided they’d rather go to God’s house to watch a football game rather than sit in the comfort of their homes and watch the same game.
I do not begrudge those who have a love of sporting events. Still, I do not think it’s right to stay home from church just to watch a game. Many people don’t see anything wrong with it at all. Well, allow me to explain my thoughts.
Those who decide to forego church services and opt to stay in and enjoy the game will usually say, “It’s only one service. We have three services a week, which comes to 156 services a year. Staying home to watch one game isn’t that big of a deal.” Sure, 155 services out of 156 is a pretty good record. But here’s the thing: those who decide to stay home to watch “just one game” will often find other excuses for missing church.
I point this out because of the precedent which is set. Your family, your friends, your church sees your decision and comes to the conclusion, “Football is more important to them than church.” Maybe it’s not. “How dare you judge me?” you might be saying about now. I’m not judging you at all. I am merely pointing out my own views on the matter. In my experience, those who decide to stay home and watch the game once a year will very often find other “one time things” to keep them from the remaining 155 regular services. Maybe it’s a concert, vacation time, parties, conferences, work, whatever. Soon that 155 drops to 107, then to 84. Instead of being faithful to their commitment to the Lord, they spend their time thinking of all the other things they could be doing instead.
When it comes down to it, I guess it is a matter of commitment. I don’t say that because I’m a pastor and I’m expected to be there every service. I want to be there. Jesus didn’t take a day off with me, and I don’t want to take a day off with Him. Throughout my life I was taught that Sundays and Wednesdays were days set aside to worship the Lord in church. And just because I’m a pastor doesn’t mean that there aren’t things I’d like to do on a Sunday or Wednesday. I’ve had to miss some “important” things because they fell on church days.
There comes a time in the life of every Christian when hard decisions have to be made. As I said, there’s nothing wrong with a good sporting event, a nice concert, or whatever. But when those events fall on a day set aside for the worship of the Lord, we need to prioritize. We cannot be guilty of saying, “It’s only one time; God will understand.” Even when there are other things we would like to be doing, we need to show where our commitment really lies.
Why do I say this? Because lives are at stake. Whether we realize it or not, people are indeed watching the way we live our life. How do we want our children to grow up? Do we want them to see their parents putting things before God, saying, “It’s okay if there’s anything else you’d rather be doing,” or do we want them to see what that what we say is the way we believe, that God really does come first?
Perhaps you think I’m totally off base. Perhaps you think I’m a fanatic when it comes to church, that I’m overly sensitive about attendance and commitment. But to me, I cannot justify skipping out on the Lord when I consider all He’s done for me throughout my life, even if it’s “only one time.” It’s not a big stretch to see that sin and backsliding begin this same way. We decide to forsake what God tells us to do, justifying it by saying, “It’s only one time. No one will get hurt.” But then we discover that we’ve drifted far further than we ever intended to go.
There are times we simply cannot avoid missing church, due to illness and the like. But every time we have the opportunity to work for the Lord, serve Him, worship in His house, we should take it. There may come a time when we wish we could and will not be physically able. We may reach a point when we want others to come to church, but they say, “Well, you didn’t think it was all that important, why should I?” Then what defense do we have?
In the final analysis, one concert, one game, one party does not compare to the eternal, spiritual benefits that even one church service brings. Am I overstating or even over-simplifying this matter? All I can say is that, for me, nothing is more important than what the Lord expects of me, and that is my very best. I may fail in that regard, but I want to do my best. When I see that I’m not doing my best, I want to fix it. I guess what I’m ultimately saying is that all of us need to honestly evaluate our spiritual condition, lay our opinions and excuses aside and see what’s really going on in our mind and heart. When we do, we might not like what we see, but at least we have the opportunity to change it.
© 2007, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by leaving a comment (with your request) which will be forwarded to Chris Keeton. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
1 comment:
Amen!
Jennifer
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