So! You’ve Decided To Leave The Church.

There is a recurring sin in our church (and others I’m sure) that flies in the face of the command found in 1Peter 1:22 love one another deeply, from the heart.

I am speaking of the idea people get when they have decided that their church has become disposable and that they are deserving of one that will do a better job of meeting their needs.

What many choose to do once their church has become expendable like this, is to use the departure experience as a means of determining how loved or lovable they really are.

Some people decide to use church-members as guinea-pigs to see how long it takes for someone to realize they are missing and just what kind of affection they will demonstrate once they do realize. 2-3 weeks says I’m pretty important. 6-7 weeks says Nobody likes me, I think I’ll continue my search for a better church.

If you are contemplating this self-pitying, people-using experiment, there are a couple of questions you ought to ask yourself first…

1. Do you love theses people that you are deserting, deeply from the heart?
2. Is this how love treats people, abandoning them to see what kind of distress can be caused?
3. Is this how you generally treat relationships that matter to you?
4. Have you then, actually loved? (ever?)
5. If you have not loved, how is it then, that you expect a group of people who struggle with self-centeredness as much as you do, to come flocking to you in your absence?
6. If you have not loved by calling people that were absent, how is it then that you expect everyone else to excel where you have failed?
7. If you have not served, committed, how is it that you could ever expect anyone to notice you were gone?
8. And if you have loved, served, committed and left, how fearful do you think those you left behind are going to be? When your immaturity and inability to communicate with grown-up words comes to the fore, how willing do you think people are going to be to confront that quivering lower lip of yours?

In short: Who do you think you are?
In shorter: Please don’t treat the people of this church with such loveless contempt.
In shortest: Grow up!

Try rather, obeying. Try rather, loving and if you a have to leave, consider Paul’s example in church relationships.

Eph 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Php 4:1 my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown… dear friends!
1Th 2:8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
1Th 2:17 brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you.

Love... one another... deeply... from the heart.