The excuses that people give for not attending church are abundant. They are also pretty shallow when carefully examined. I am sure you would agree that the same excuses people use for not attending church would be absurd if the preacher tried to use them as reasons for not attending a sports event.
Consider these common excuses for not attending church as reasons why someone wouldn’t attend baseball games.
- All they want is my money. Every time I go to a game someone asks for money at the gate. They even try to tell me how much to give.
- The people who go there are not very friendly. Sometimes nobody even speaks to me. They are the most unfriendly people I’ve even been around.
- The seats are too hard. With all that money you would think that they could make them more comfortable.
- I don’t agree with all that they do. The umpire says things that I don’t like. If he wants to run things that way, he’ll run them without me.
- They never visit me. Although I am a good loyal fan, the coach has never called on me.
- There are too many hypocrites who attend. They are not all good fans. Some are there just to show off their clothes and visit with friends. They aren’t sincere about the game.
- It’s my only day off. I work hard all week and like to lie around the house and be with my family on my days off.
- I don’t have to attend games to be a good fan. I can be just as good a fan without ever seeing a game.
Absurd? Yes. But no more so than giving the same excuses for not attending church. The real reason most people don’t attend church is that they do not want to badly enough. Evangelist John Wesley said, “The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.”
Church attendance is vital to every person who is sincere about serving God. Why not throw away those empty excuses and begin regular church attendance this Sunday?