Thursday, July 6, 2017

Worship--a Healthy Way to Live

Worshiping—a Healthy Way to Live
Psalm 122:1
            Church signs are wonderful sources of humor—but humor with a message.  I’m surprised there aren’t more automobile accidents in front of churches, as people slow down or even stop to see what’s written on the signs.
            One church sign I read of recently said, “I don’t know why some people change churches—what difference does it make which one you stay home from?”  Funny, yes, but straight to the point.
            It’s interesting how many excuses people can come up with for not attending church.  I used to live next door to a man whose reason for staying home on Sunday mornings was that (according to him) the assistant pastor of his church had a high, squeaky voice that he didn’t like to listen to.
            Years ago, there was a radio ad aimed at getting people to attend church.  One man asked another if he was going to church next Sunday.  The second man made an excuse—something he had to do.  The first man asked, “What about the next Sunday?”  Again, the second man gave an excuse.  The first man kept asking about the next Sunday, and the next, and the next, with the second man always coming up with something that was (to him) more important.  Finally, the first man said, “Well, what about three months from now?”  The second man replied, “I could be dead by then!”  The first man answered, “That’s right.”  End of ad.
            We know we should attend church faithfully.  We know this is what God wants us to do.  We know we should be glad to get up on Sunday morning, put everything else aside, leave our house and end up in God’s house.  We know we should—but too often we don’t.
            Over and over again in Psalms we find the words, “Praise the Lord!”  Our worship of God should be joyful.  David says, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go in to the house of the Lord.”  He didn’t say, “I’ll go to the Temple if I have nothing better to do.”
            Perhaps that’s why we stay home.  Perhaps we can’t worship gladly.  Perhaps we have too much on our mind, or we find the worship service boring, or the people aren’t very welcoming, or…but what if it’s us?  Perhaps we’re the boring ones, or the unfriendly ones.  What if the church is OK, but we’re not?  Any time we’re unhappy with the attitude of the situation we’re in, the first person we ought to check should be us.  Amazing how the people around us change when we make changes in ourselves.
            Recently, a study conducted at Vanderbilt University came up with some interesting conclusions.  For people between the ages of 40 and 65, church attendance can prolong life.  Specifically, those who attend some house of worship (the attendance matters more than the religion) reduce their mortality rate by 55 per cent.  Conversely, those who do not attend worship are twice as likely to die prematurely.  The lead researcher was Vanderbilt Professor (and Baptist minister) Marino Bruce.
            Admittedly, the possibility of a longer life is not the best reason for attending worship.  David’s reason—the pure joy of being in God’s house—is far better.  Still, it says something about being with other people who share our religious outlook.  Whether it’s because we’re members of a close social group (one very good possibility), or the uplift we receive from acknowledging and serving a power greater than ourselves, or some other reason, there is much to be said for making our way to the house of the Lord.  And now we know:  it not only helps make this life longer, but might also do us good in the life to come.

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