Why Bother with Church?
May 10th, 2008 by ljkim
“Why should I go to church and put up people who are different from me – open myself up to the possibility of disappointment and frustration…I don’t need that in my life right now… Or do I?”
There are actually LOTS of ways to answer this, but this morning I want to say: Church is like any other meaningful task – if you go just to get stuff, you’ll probably be disappointed after a while. But if you go to GIVE stuff, to be a blessing, then you wind up getting a whole lot more than you imagined… this isn’t just a “be a giver” schpiel, think about it: Which school teacher will have a more rewarding day? The teacher who goes to GET recognition and get thru his lesson plan and get a paycheck – OR, the teacher who the teacher who loves kids and wants to give them the benefit of a good education and thoughtful intellectual engagement? Or who do you think will be more satisfied at work (and with life), the woman who works at a big company to get ever higher salaries and bonuses, or the woman who wants to help accomplish extraordinary things with her company? Who do you think gets more out of church – people who only want to GET something and run away or people who want to give and be part of something extraordinary?
There’s a story John MacArthur told when Sir Christopher Wren was building St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Wren was making a tour one day and asked a man working, “What are you doing?” The workman replied, “I am cutting this stone to the right size.” He asked a second man working elsewhere, “What are you doing?” “I am earning money,” came the retort. Wren came, later, to a third man and offered the same query. The man paused for a second from his work and excitedly replied, “I am helping Sir Christopher Wren to build St. Paul’s cathedral!”
[About the photo: Taken from Omar's facebook. Danny, solving the rubik's cube in record time]
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