I heard someone say the other day that most people find it preferable to spend Sunday morning with Starbucks and the New York Times than to go to church. When I heard this, my heart jumped. Of course! That's what I am missing. The Times and a Venti Americano.
I grew up going to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and sometimes Wednesday evening as well. I loved it. It was an hour and a half away from the stress and fear of life, and I liked hearing that God loves me and everyone else. Then I became a teenager, and church lost much of its appeal. After some years away, I started to venture back, and recently I have been going to a church that meets on Sunday night.
So now, I could go to Starbucks on Sunday morning and read the paper if I decided to do that. And go to church on Sunday night as well! But the real thing I wondered when hearing the speaker was, what would I enjoy more?
I think it depends on my frame of mind. If I am feeling connected, whole, and healthy, I think either would be fine. But if I am feeling discouraged, ashamed, or disconnected, there is no way I could survive Starbucks. I would start feeling paranoid, and that I was wasting my life (rather than practicing self care.) That is the situation where going to church really calls to me.
I need to feel that I am part of something bigger than myself. Worshiping with other believers, hearing a solid message about God, and taking communion really helps me to stop thinking so much about me and lifts my head up to where I can see other people and think about them. It makes me want to be healthy and whole, makes me want to help others. It's really hard to get that from coffee and the newspaper. Which is not to say I will quit going to Starbucks any time soon.
