If you don’t mind me asking, why do you go to church? You wake up early in the morning and prepare for church service on an early Sunday morning, or you may even wake up late and end up being tardy for the church. Prior to this, you had selected what you will wear and even ironed it the previous day or not. What are all these preparation geared towards?
Many are those who visit churches in the quest of seeking salvation. As some get to the altar of salvation and get saved, others do not make it through the journey as they have other agendas with which they entered the church.
We often make that mistake of thinking all those who are found in the house of God are saints and are therefore without sin. So when they end up stepping on our toes, we get hurt and baffled, forgetting that they are only but humans. Have you ever asked yourself why pastors at the theological school need to be invigilated when writing exams? Shouldn’t they be trustworthy enough to be left on their own and not cheat? Even as those who refer to themselves as men of God, they are first of all men before the God factor. We are all trying to be Christ-like but have not succeeded at that quest yet. If you should see how some of these men of God behave behind closed doors, you will gape in awe. You will have the courage to move on after you finally come to terms with the fact that they are just like any other human being, with the same hormones and blood running through them. So just like any ordinary human being, they have all sorts of human traits. Some are affable and morally upright, while others are stern and corrupt.
In today’s world, what we observe is that most people go to church with different agenda. We go to the church rather very late after the bible lessons have been read and the minister is about to preach, that is when we get in. As the pastor is preaching, we are seen chatting with friends (both adults and the youth) or probably browsing on our phones. This leaves me to wonder, why even go to church when you are not interested in what will be preached? As if this is not enough, we step out immediately the preaching ends, and we have given our offering. That is when the church service ends for most people, especially the youth. This routine doesn’t take place only during Sunday services but almost any service at all held in the church. For heaven’s sake, God orders us to observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Out of the seven days, we are to set aside one day to rest and commune as Christians to offer praises and worship to his holy name. What is difficult about this? Most of us hardly open our bibles to study on our own at home and the church is the only place we get to listen to God’s word yet we find those hours as the convenient time to gossip.
As I conducted a survey and interviewed some people on their reasons for being outside while’s service was still ongoing, it confused me.
At this point, some step out to take pictures, gossip, eat and just look around (meet and greet squad).
With the taking of pictures, I believe they can be done after church except for those who are shy and don’t want the presence of onlookers while they pose for pictures. With that, I suggest they do it before they enter the church building. And those who step out to gossip too you have after church hours and entire six days out of the seven days of the week to meet and gossip. To even make it more exciting and easy, you all have phones to call or hold group chats for your discussions. As for the meet and greet squad, I believe you can also schedule your meeting for after church service.
Again, there are those who step out to find something to eat, which I don’t think is appropriate. You eat in the house before going to church, or you can do so at the close of the church not in the middle of service.
As the saying goes, there is time for everything so let’s not misplace priorities, because this act of today’s Christians is pathetic and really worries me. For others also, that is the time they step out to socialize. One guy will be eyeing one girl and vice versa. The moment one steps out, the other follows up and talks to exchange contacts for further interaction.
This act cuts across all churches, both in the orthodox and charismatic circles. Most churches have taken measures to ensure that these activities are curbed, but the youth are adamant, making the exercise futile. If the youth would be able to tell the church what to do, I’m sure the church will be very grateful. I urge you to work out your salvation with fear and trembling as the bible says.
So when next you go to church, ask yourself, is it to worship or to gossip?
Writer: Lawrencia Esi Annan
Source: Wenomedia
