I grew up in a fairly strict Christian home.
Sunday mornings we put on our nicest clothes, always a dress, and we went to church. No questions asked as this is what our parents did.
We did not mind going to church. We got to see our Sunday friends and after church a family would always come over for coffee and cake. The church was always full.
Years later, I stopped going to church after my kids were born, but slowly others began to leave the church as well, but why?
Today, I look at church parking lots, a few are filled with vehicles, but many are less than half full, and the inside of the church is even emptier.
So why the change? Is it work, lifestyles, belief or just plain laziness?
I believe it is all of them. Work often interferes with going to church. How many places will hire a person that says they cannot work Sundays? Not too many. Most stores are open on Sundays now, so we need to work and in most families both parents have to work. Back in the day, stores were closed Sundays, not just for church but to allow people to have a day with family.
What about lifestyles? Today most families with working parents do not want to rush on a Sunday morning to get ready for a 10:30 a.m. church service when it is their only day off. Or is this the reason?
Often there are hockey and baseball tournaments that we make time for, but why do we not make time for church?
Sunday mornings are for sleeping in, a laid-back day, no rush, no deadlines, no church.
Do people still believe in going to church? Or do people believe they do not need to go to church to show others they are good Christian people?
I was told as a kid I had to go to church to keep my faith strong. But is this true? I can be a Christian without going to church.
I feel I do not need to go to church to be a good person. Do others feel the same way?
Churches also have their judgmental people, but why? Should we not go to church and be equals, no better and no less. We have this enough in the world were people think they are better than others; it should not happen in a Christian church.
Even if you never went to church, even if you do not believe in God, you still need to be a good person and not judge, because we are still equal.
I feel this all changed when the Lord’s Prayer was taken out of the school. Many say we can no longer say Merry Christmas, as this may offend a non-believer.
When I went to school, we had several kids that did not believe, and when the Lord’s Prayer was said, they just did not say it, simple as that.
With Easter weekend, will you stay home or try to go to church, not just for hearing the Word, but for the fellowship?
It seems each generation has their own agenda. Times are changing quickly, but is it for the better?
We on the whole, make time for the things we want to do, but church is not one of them anymore.
Does going to church make a person better than the person who stays home to be with his family, I do not think so.
Showing kindness to others, being a friend to those that have no friends, this makes you a good person and this makes you pleasing in God’s eyes and makes you a beautiful person to others.
