For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
What is your philosophy when it comes to attending church? Do you ever question what, if anything, should trump attending church? Are there things in your life that are more important than being there when your church family is there?
I've been considering these questions in my own mind. Especially since lately I have had circumstances that have posed some challenges for me. Do you ever face a challenge with going to church? I'm pretty sure we all do at one time or another. Our mindset will determine our actions. Especially when the choice to go to church makes things harder on us.
Speaking from my own experience, sometimes I have allowed inconveniences, sometimes major, sometimes minor, to sway my decision. And sadly, seeking God on the matter ends up being an afterthought if I consider his thoughts on the matter at all.
Maybe you've faced similar challenges to these...
"Do I really want to go this time? After all, we're having a business meeting anyway and my kids will be bored to tears."
Or maybe you've thought,
"I'm going through all the trouble to get there only to spend the whole time in a nursery feeding the baby, I'd rather just do that at home. I can listen to the sermon online later."
Or,
"I just figure it's going to stress me out to rush around in my attempts to get there. It won't be a very "spiritual" experience for me or the kids if I am losing my patience. It would just be better to stay home."
In each of these situations we are allowing a selfish, personal inconvenience to keep us from something that God clearly wants us to do. That thing is to gather together with God's people.
To my shame, my selfishness came to the forefront recently, when I felt the "feeding the baby in the nursery" challenge. I think especially because it was a Wednesday evening. Sometimes when life gets challenging I feel as though I am jumping through hoops on Wednesday just to get to church. With one vehicle and my husband working second shift, Wednesday night prayer meeting requires some extra effort for me. And I confess, not having my husband with me makes it a little more challenging to maintain a "We will do this! No matter what!" attitude.
Recently, I was questioning whether or not I should go. My concern? The being stuck in the nursery thing. After all the traveling back in forth, the gas money, the effort to make it happen...ending up in a nursery and feeding my baby. Can't I just do that at home? I brought my concerns up to my husband. I will never forget his response.
"Marisha, if this were all about you-that would be one thing...
but it's not."
Those words, spoken in love, sunk in deep.
So true. He was right. It's not about me. It's about God.
Does he want me there? That is the question we should be asking.
I understand things come up. Recently, I spent almost the entire Sunday afternoon being unsure as to what I was going to do in the evening. Facing a challenge and questioning "Should we go?"
When facing a challenge, our first inclination can often be to just conclude that we shouldn't. But I think the more we consider God and what he would have us do, and the more we pray, the more we see that we can work through the challenge and set personal inconvenience and preferences aside.
We also have to consider how our decision to stay home affects our children. Do they see us being prayerful about any challenges we are facing or do we easily cave in at the slightest inconvenience? Are we showing them that something we need to accomplish at home or for work is more important? I'm not saying that we should never, ever miss a church service. I'm just saying we should take it very seriously, being prayerful and seeking God on it as challenging circumstances present themselves. And when it comes to our children and even our church family, what message are we sending if we are not willing to face our challenges head on and do what it takes to go to church? More importantly, what does God think about it?
One of my children has recently began complaining of a tummy ache on Sunday afternoon. I am really questioning the validity of this tummy ache since it is only complained about as the evening service approaches. And on top of that, my child states "I don't think I should go to church." I am suspecting that my child is not too keen on sitting through an evening service in the sanctuary. No children's church. Hmmmm...is it any wonder that it is not my child's personal preference to sit through the service?
What attitude are we promoting in our homes?
An attitude of "I am most important" or "God is most important"?
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging
one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25
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