Sunday Morning Motives.

I remember the time when I used to go to church because I wanted to learn about God. Or maybe I don't. I think for as long as I can remember, I've always gone attended Sunday morning services with the intent of just seeing people. I think the last time I had gone to church with the intent of seeking God first, was when I was a kid. Now that I'm an adult, I'm looking back on my 18 years of church attendance and questioning my motives after all these years.

If you look at the purpose of church, it exists for Christians to come together in community, to seek God, and to build one another up in order to serve the will of God. So in a sense, church is about seeing people. But for me, and probably many others, church has/had become just another social institution, a place to meet people, socialize and maybe find a spouse in the process. Sunday mornings become another day of the week to meet up with your Christian friends and chill while the message flies over your head. I'm not saying that this is the case for absolutely everyone, but I know this is where my head was at for the longest time. I can't say that my intentions to be at church were 100% ministry and God focused, they most certainly weren't.

Let's be honest here, I can't be the only one who has been here/is here, or has done/does this. 

Fill 'er up.

Since when did Sunday morning become about me? My biggest frustration is pointed back at myself. Sunday mornings at church exist with the capacity to make us overflow as Christians. Sunday services aren't meant to fill you up; the sermon alone does not have the ability to fill you up spiritually. The filling is something you must do in your own personal relationship with Christ; in your own time, in small groups, in personal devotions. If you look at the purpose of church, and Sundays, it's meant for us to pour out. Christians come together, united in and for the will of God, and we give of ourselves sacrificially to one another and to those around us. Ideally, we come to church on Sunday already pretty full, and the sermon over-fills us, causing us to overflow. We can pour out because our cup is running over. 

I find myself attending a Sunday service half full or less than half, expecting the sermon to give me enough to be almost, just full. In my experience, when I come to a service half-empty, I'm self-focused: "How can the sermon serve me? What can it do for me?" as opposed to, "Who/what/where/when do I serve with this?"

(Keep in mind, I say all this with regard to mature Christians, not to those who are not Christian, or are just checking church out for the first time).

Social butterfly

When I come in to church with the sole intent of hanging out with my Christian peeps, or hopefully meeting some cute Christian guy, I'm losing out. This is not to say socializing is not a part of being in church or coming on Sundays, or that God cannot grow me as a Christian through it. My point is this: examine your motives. This past Sunday's sermon was about self-deception. I'd say I've been deceiving myself about my motives for coming to church for the past 14 years. I was self-serving; friends first, God second. I still learned about God, but I wasn't deliberately seeking His will. 

I can't say that I was in a 'Body' mindset for the longest time. I came to church to socialize while doing my thang. I had my problems and struggles, talked them out with my Christian friends without looking at them from a perspective of a greater purpose, the bigger picture. I knew I was part of a body, but my mind wasn't set on outright living as a member of the body. I just came in, sat down, listened to a sermon then socialized and left to do more socializing. I had some passion for God, but it got lost in the midst of my desire to see my friends. 

Perspective.

If you have a moment to think, after reading this, then use it to examine yourself. Check your heart and check your motives. Why? Because you're here for one thing, and one thing only, God. Every little thing you struggle with, every good and bad thing, trains you to turn eyes back to God, until you see things from His point of view. Let Sunday service fall under that perspective, like everything else in your life. Sundays are meant for service, not to ourselves, but to God first. 

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 1:13)

This is the standard for self-examination. This is the perspective we must have from Monday to Sunday, day in day out.