Some of the reasons why people stop going to church
I was told by many people that they stopped going to church because people at church hurt them at some point, so they left church all together. That’s why God tells us not to put our trust in man. I also have people who tell me that they don’t tithe and give offerings because the money will be used to buy pastors' expensive cars and suits, so they don’t want to make them "richer" than they are. According to them, the pastors are already stealing from the congregations, so they say they are too smart to be duped like that. But wait, are you giving or tithing to obey a man or God? Moving on...
No, let’s park here for a flash. When you choose to buy a dress and it comes to your attention that your dress lady is duping you when it comes to the price and quality of the dresses she sells, do you stop wearing clothes all together or do you look for another dress?
Guard your heart with all diligence, because out of it come all the issues of life. You see, your heart is not just the muscle that pumps blood; the verse talks about your emotions, your thoughts, and the core of you that makes you function. Who have you been allowing into your heart to make you ache like this? You see, the excuses we give for not doing or doing things are never the root of the matter. It’s a lie we have told ourselves over and over again to justify our actions. When we fail to man up and face the real issues that are going on with us, we are not going to get anywhere.
It’s OK to be broken and need help. That’s why He tells us to lean on Him alone, because He is sure of His commitment to each and everyone of us. He knows He will never leave you nor forsake you, but because some of us only want the benefits of His blessings and not a relationship with Him, we choose to have Him on our side just in case we want something, claiming blessings, shouting Hallelujah, and turning four times in order to receive blessings but refusing to interact with the one who is blessing us.
Some of us are too used to a friend with benefits kind of relationship that we treat everyone like that.
An ache in your heart causes you to dysfunction. It causes you to see things in a disconnected way. Why do you go out drinking every day or every weekend? I know you’ve told us it’s for fun, but we also know that you want to own something one day and become someone, but with all this drama, what’s really going on? Who hurt you so bad that you can’t trust again? Why do you hit your wife, huh? You already know you are stronger than she is, so why are you still trying to prove a point? Is it the only thing that makes you feel like a man? Don’t pull out the checklist just yet and say I go to church, I don’t drink, I don’t hit my wife, I tithe and give an offering, so I’m good. An ache is caused by things you haven’t allowed God to deal with in your heart. It may be something that happened thirty years ago and caused you pain, and over time, because you don’t feel the pain as strongly as you used to, you say that time healed you. But no, sweetheart, time numbs things. It never heals. Only God heals.
If you don’t deal with the issues going on in your heart by allowing God to work them out, they will erupt in the future. There is no way around it: you can’t church your way out of it, you can’t hate all pastors out of it, you can’t lock yourself away from everyone around it, you just have to deal. Get your heart healed and, for once, have real peace and joy, not this shaky laughter thing trying to act like we are OK. That is what we have going on with most of us. I know at times it’s all you’ve got, but get healed, love. I promise you it will all be worth it.
I’m done.
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