Losing My Religion

Well, people what can I say?  I am going to provide you with a little bit more honesty that I know some people may crucify me for.  But, oh well!  You know I don’t mine going to church at all and actually I enjoy it.  I don’t get the opportunity to attend on Sundays because I work, so I try to make Bible Study.  I am not always successful in my attempt to make it because somtime things come up and the other part I am just plain out lazy sometimes.

I attended church when I was younger but I can’t really say I was brought up in the church like most people I know.  I wasn’t going church hoping, hanging with church members after church (those extremely long pow wows), going to service constantly and attending all of the other church activities or functions that you can think of.  Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against anybody who does.  I know Tee was brought up in church and her family basically lived there and would spend the night sometimes.  Heck, I always joke but they prayed until they saw Jesus Christ in the flesh.  They were serious!

Well, people that is just not me.  I don’t mine going like I mentioned but I don’t want to do morning service… then afternoon service…then revival next three days…then pastor’s anniversary…then youth services…etc.  Maybe that is wrong and if so just pray for me but that is how I feel though.  Heck, sometimes these things are all in one week!  I heard the pastor say that church is the best place to be (I agree BUT) and kids need to be there because they can stay out of trouble. 

Now I want to spend time with my kids and it’s just us and not the whole congregation and I am in one room and they are in another.  Sometimes I just do not want to go to church that much.  I do not want it to consume my entire schedule for the week.  I just pick and choose what I want to attend.  Once again, maybe that is wrong but that is what I do.  It’s like this, for example, I want to put my children in soccer but it is on Wednesdays’ evenings  but that conflict with Bible Study.  The games are on the same days they practice and this would be a great time for me because I would be able to see them play in the game and attend all the practices.  Well, I said I would put them into basketball again but the games and practices are on Saturdays, plus I would have to get my people (family) to take them.  My whole purpose of their extracircurilator is for them to have something of their own.  My first thought is to put Bible Study to the back and I don’t think I am wrong for that or alternate days between Bible Study and soccer. 

Now, I am not saying church is unimportant.  NO, that is not it at all but I just don’t want to be there all the time.  I know I have to be an example to my children and I know they are watching, so I try to be aware of my behavior or attitude.  One day I didn’t go to Bible Study and I was just flat out being defiant and was upset that particular day.  I asked my son why he didn’t go to church and he said he wanted to be with me.  I thought to myself like I got to change this because I don’t want him to not want to go.  I had to force this boy to go to our church’s conference.  Please believe me people I am trying to send the right message BUT with that said I still don’t want to be in there all day or most of the week.

Church is important by all means.  Some blessing can only be received by going to church.  The Lord want us to fellowship with each other.  What’s that verse?  When one or more gather in my name I shall be there…etc.  Yeah, I know that is not the verse correctly but you  know the scripture.   That’s doesn’t mean that I am not taking any time out of my life to be with the Lord or pray.  This is not a justification by any means but we focus on the physical building itself and not the church that lies within us.

This is to switch gears some, so walk with me for a little while because I am going to wrap it up.  You know I personally don’t get off into denominations like that.  I am not saying if you do then something is wrong with you.  It just never been my focus.  I grew up Baptist for the most part of my life, I am not a current member of a  Baptist’s church but that don’t mean that I think their theological teaching are wrong either.  I go where I am lead to go.  Some of us keep the same denomination because that is the way we were raised and not so much that we believe in it or truly submerged into the Word and have a spiritual understanding of that denomination.  Now, I can’t speak too much but honestly I am ignorant to most of the Word.  See finding God or whoever you believe in is up to you and not mama, papa or your spouse.  So many times some of us stay at the same church we grew up in because it is like the sitcom “Cheers”.  Okay, not a bar but it is a place that everybody knows your name and it has a familiarity that we can go against the grain at certain times and we really don’t have accountabilityfor our action so much.  At times, we may feel as if we own or have some stake in the church because our grandfather/grandmother or great, great grandparents paved the way and our lineage runs so deep that we are personally invested in the church that it is apart of our inhertiance.  Yeah, it varies so I am not generalizing but we just have to make sure it is a place we are suppose to be verses a place (church) we were raised in and a denomination that we have inherit through meiosis.