Wal-Mart is not. Ball practice is not. Homework is not. Family gatherings are not. Working at McDonald’s is not. But . . . church sure is! Or at least that’s what it appears to be. When I hear the excuses parents make for not faithfully attending church, youth activities, Sunday School, ministry opportunities, regular services, I begin to wonder, “Is church contaminated with something?”
Look at the following written by Mary Louise Kitsen, “Generations of Excuses,” found in the Good News Broadcaster.
- our baby Timmy’s birth
- Timmy’s just a baby
- Timmy always catches a cold in the nursery
- Timmy’s too noisy and too active
- Timmy can’t get along with the other children
- the birth of Timmy’s baby sister, Sally
- Sally’s just a baby
- Sally always catches a cold in the nursery
- Sally’s too noisy and too active
- Sally can’t get along with the other children
- we’re all so busy that Sunday is our only day as a family
- my husband’s boss wants to golf with him on Sundays
- I work during the week and Sunday is my only day to relax
- Timmy’s soccer games are on Sundays
- Timmy thinks going to youth group is dumb
- Timmy’s married now, and you know how it is with newlyweds!
- Timmy’s baby’s birth
- Timmy’s baby is too noisy, too active, might catch a cold in the nursery . . .
Many parents don’t mind exposing their children to the germs at the grocery store, because after all you must eat. Or exposing their children to the other children at school, because after all they must get an education. Or exposing their children to the “clean world” of McDonald’s, because after all they must get a job. No excuses are uttered here for these temporal endeavors. BUT, exposure to eternal, life-changing truths, people who preach and teach the Truth, activities that help children hear the Gospel and eventually understand salvation, summer camp that enriches the lives of children spiritually, the local church which is the body of Christ, now we had better be careful! There must be something about those eternal things, so we make excuses to protect them! (By the way, my favorite line at the door on Sunday morning as folks are leaving is, “We probably won’t be back tonight for church.” Oh really????)
What excuses are you using to keep your children from being impacted by Truth? What excuses are you using that your children are learning and will use someday as well?
Luke 14:25-26 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
Psalm 19:7-11 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.
Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
From A Pastor's Heart 