I Used to Go Church, Why Don’t I Enjoy It Anymore

I Used to Go Church, Why Don’t I Enjoy It Anymore

     This a very interesting and intriguing question. What should a person do who no longer wishes, or has no desire, to attend church anymore? The answer to the question is not simple because the cause could be as varied as the people asking it.

     So, let me begin with the primary purpose. We attend church to worship God and to study his Word in order to learn more about Him and our relationship with Him. Our modern-day church is a product of the Old Testament Jewish temple worship. The Jews gathered to offer sacrifices to God in order to place them in right relationship with Him. They also met to study the Word of God (Luke 2:42-50) and to learn of Him. We meet to worship God “because” the sacrifice has been made which placed us in right relationship with God. And we meet to study His Word and to learn more about Him. And God has given the Church the tools to do these things (I Corinthians 12:7ff). If we are to stay in right relationship with God and mature as believers we must gather together for worship and study.

     Every born-again believer has been given a gift from God when they were saved. We are to use our gifts to help exhort and encourage each other. So, not only do we attend church to worship we also attend in order to serve. We attend church so that we can use our gifts to help others. When one stays away from the fellowship of believers his gift is absent as well. If I draw encouragement from you, then when you are absent I am not encouraged as I ought to be. If your gift is teaching, the fellowship will miss your words of wisdom when you are absent. Every believer adds to the body. We do not come to church simply to take from it. We come also to contribute to the worship and fellowship. If your gift is helping, think of how many things may not get done as they ought to have been simply because you stayed home. Every believer is essential to the Body of Christ. And as the day of his appearing nears, our fellowship together is of greater importance.

     And God has also commanded that we do so. The Church is not only encouraged to fellowship, the Church is commanded to fellowship together. Paul wrote in Hebrew 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works, (v.25) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” We are to use the gifts God has given to each of us as tools to establish and to strengthen the Church. And Paul adds that this is especially important today as we see the day of Christ’s return approaching. One has not to look far before seeing the weakness of the modern church in society. We must “provoke to love and good works” each and every member of the Body of Christ.

     Also, God expects His children to be obedient. If God says to attend church then we must obey, “And Samuel said, Does Jehovah delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice! To listen is better than the fat of rams!” I Samuel 15:22. When we accepted Christ as Savior we should have become his servants as well. But, who we serve in life is an on-going choice, “Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to him whom you obey; whether it is of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness” Romans 6:16. Should Church attendance be enjoyable? Yes. However, as we find in so many areas of life, we must do the right thing whether it seems enjoyable or not. In time, we find that obedience brings joy. Disobedience brings discipline (Hebrew 12:5-12) and discipline is never enjoyable, “Now chastening for the present does not seem to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are exercised by it” (Hebrews 12:11). However, the disciplining hand of God eventually brings “the peaceful fruit” but not until it brings us back to obedience.

     And best of all, if we may call one reason better than another, when we meet together we have a greater sense of the presence of Christ than we could ever have when we are alone, Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” The very presence of Jesus Christ himself becomes even more evident when we are worshipping God together. There is something special about the fellowship of believers filled with the Holy Spirit of God lifting up the name of God in praise and worship.

     When a person no longer enjoys church attendance the reasons could be myriad. However, I find most often that we have become disobedient in other areas as well, and that we have begun to worship for the wrong reasons. If we attend church in obedience to God and in order to worship God, to learn more about him, to fellowship with likeminded believers, to experience the presence of Jesus Christ, and to use the gifts which God has bestowed upon us in order to build and encourage other believers, we will undoubtedly enjoy attending church. 

Why should I believe it?

Why should I believe it?

“Look for something positive in each day, even if somedays you have to look little harder.”

“Be kind to yourself. You are amazing. You are good enough. You are worth it.”

“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.”

“Stop waiting for things to happen. Go out and make them happen.”

Is there anything inherently wrong with these statements? I purposely give no source because who wrote them is of no consequence. I keep seeing multitudes of “wise sayings” posted on the internet for us to draw strength from in times of trouble. But are they as wise as implied?

I frequently ask the question, “What is your source of truth?” I have learned over the years that well-meaning Christians are drawn away with just such sayings. Yes, I said drawn away. There are clear black and white lines in the universe, truth and error. There is no grey, Romans 3:4 “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar….” Whatever is not of God is a lie, it is not true. And whatever is of God is truth by its very nature.

So, what of the above quotes and thousands more just like them? Such quotes can only be true, and therefore useful to God’s children, if they state what is already revealed by God’s Word. The line is often blurred and difficult to distinguish. But, that does not make it almost right. Instead, it makes it more dangerous than ever because it has an even greater chance of misleading people. I chose the above quotes to make this point.

“Look for something positive in each day, even if somedays you have to look little harder.”

Psa_5:3  My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Psa_55:17  Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

Psa_59:16  But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning:

Psa 92:2  To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.

Look at each of these. Instead of “looking” for anything these are just a few of the things we are to “DO.” This will change your day and your life. Not by spending your day looking for something positive but in contrast becoming that “positive” that the author was hoping to find. God says to start your day with prayer, speak to God daily and early, sing praises as you rise in the morning and go out into the world showing the loving kindness of God to everyone we meet.

“Be kind to yourself. You are amazing. You are good enough. You are worth it.” To the born-again believer this is far from true. Romans 3:10-12 “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one: (v.11) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (v.12) They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one’.” Paul understood humanity to be flawed not filled with hope and promise. It is only after we are saved that we can do good, Eph. 2:10 “For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” And Jesus himself said that even those good works are the product of his work in us, John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” We do have worth now, but only because we have become the Sons of God and Joint heirs with him. It is a mistake for us to begin exalting ourselves with vain repetitions as seen in the above quote.

“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” But here is a thought which assumes God does not guide our steps. Are you praying for the guidance of God in your life? Then listen as He leads. Is it possible that those barking dogs were sent by Him to stop you in your tracks? Have you ‘assumed’ that your destination is good, that it is God’s direction for your life, regardless of all that is opposing you?

The point to all of this is simple. The Bible has all the wisdom for life that we will ever need. The multitudes of pithy sayings offered today, even in many of our churches, are founded upon man’s wisdom and so, in these sayings there is no foundation except man’s own experience. And that varies with the winds.

The Word of God is the only sure foundation, it will never change. Jesus said, “For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matt. 5:18). Look to God for the daily wisdom we need in life.