"Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:14-15 (Note: In the NRSV when LORD is in all caps, it means that it is actually God's personal name Yahweh in the text, not the Hebrew word for Lord)
We have a gracious and loving God who came down in Jesus Christ and suffered and died for our sins. Surely we would choose Him. But do we put God first in our lives?
When I was a kid (no that wasn't the dark ages, althogh the 70s were pretty scary) pretty much everyone went to Sunday School and church. The blue laws were still hanging on a bit, so nothing opened before Noon on Sunday. Sunday was God's day and you would spend it in church. Today it doesn't seem so clear cut, and it doesn't help that society has scheduled any number of things for Sunday morning.
God has asked us for one day out of our week for us to spend in praise and fellowship. To be honest, most churches have boiled that down to somewhere between one and three hours. Is it really too much to ask for us to focus on our Savior from 9 'til Noon on Sunday?
Now I realize that some of you have to work on Sunday, and your employer doesn't always give you a choice. The ecconomy is still down. You are lucky to have a job, and you don't want to rock the boat too much, or you might find yourself the next one cut. God understands that. You don't have a choice. That is not what I am talking about.
Working with teens for 16 years I started to feel that not only did Jesus and the church not come first, they came dead last! Sports teams, band practice, going to the lake or the beach, or even sleeping late because you partied too late Saturday night took precedence to worship. Where are your priorities? God died for you, what did your coach give up?
Now the one that really gripes me was the partying too late excuse. In team sports and stuff they can threaten to throw you off the team. But are you really going to tell me that you put ALCOHOL above God? Really? I promise you that no matter how boring you think church is, it is better than throwing up or a hangover. If you choose partying over Jesus, then you can't really call yourself a disciple.
Teams are trickier, especially your kids teams. But there should be a way to have your sports and still honor God. In Orlando most sports teams did not hold games or practices Sunday morning or even Wednesday evening because there was too much of a conflict with church. It got that way because people complained and the teams accomidated their members! When Alexander was in Coach Pitch Baseball, they tried to keep the games off Sunday morning, but one week we had to make up a missed game. The coach set it for Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Being a pastor that just wouldn't work for us so I walked up to the coach and said, "Alexander will have to miss. We have church." The coach said, "OK." The other parents looked shocked. They didn't know you could ask off for church. The coach was suddenly swamped with parents telling him that they couldn't play because of church. The game got rescheduled for 3:00 p.m.
People just think that they have to live with the schedule that the coach sets. No one bothers to ask. Try asking. What's the worse that could happen? He or she could say, "no." But they don't know there is a conflict unless someone says something! Maybe you might even shop around. Not all leagues have Sunday morning games. Support the leagues that let you support your faith!
Then, there is the excuse, "I commune better with God out in the middle of creation, at the lake or in the woods." OK, I will buy that if you show me that you are really spending that time with God. What songs of praise did you sing? What scripture did you meditate on? What did you pray about? (No, "Lord let me catch a big one" is not what the type of worship God deserves.) You can hunt and fish on Saturday, too you know.
What about, "Sunday is our only time to be together as a family." What better way to build strong family bonds that to worship God together. Those families who worship together raise stronger, healthier kids than those who don't. Our family always goes out for a nice lunch after church, and sometimes even to a movie. Good quality family time that let the kids know that God comes first in our lives.
Where does God rank in your life? Do you put God first? Second? Somewhere after shoping the sales at the mall? God created us, gave us everything that we can enjoy including lakes, woods, and even sports. God gave us life! Jesus gives us eternal life. What is that worth to you? Is it worth an hour or two of your time?
Parents: Your kids will not pick up faith on their own. If you do not make God a priority, neither will they!
Well, now that I have alienated all of my readers: As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
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