Sometimes Christians stay away from churches because of the other people in those churches. I hate to admit it, but yes, there are hypocrites in church. There are outright liars in church. There are people who will cling to you, whine for attention, ask for money all the time, and make your life difficult. And I’m not talking about the children!
Sometimes the children are difficult though. When my oldest daughter was four years old, I was asked to play the piano for a Sunday night service. My husband was home with the other children who were sick, so I brought my oldest with me and assumed she could sit with a friend in the pews while I played. But no. She cried and cried when I tried to leave her, no matter what I said, or my friend said. The service was about to start and she still wouldn’t let go of me and still wouldn’t be quiet.
So I took her with me. I let her sit on the piano bench by my side and began to play the introduction for the first hymn. I was so worried she was going to wander off that I was incredibly distracted. I played the intros wrong, I hesitated on the verses, I didn’t keep my eyes on the director. We got through it though, and she was actually pretty good – just a little wiggly.
Was she the support I needed that night? Not exactly. But I was the support that she needed.
You can probably tell where I’m heading with this. Sometimes we need the church not for ourselves, but because someone else there needs our support, or our particular insights, or our gifts and talents. Maybe we are the one those hypocrites need to help them overcome their issues and become more transparent and honest.
At my last church, whenever someone new joined, the pastor didn’t just tell them they were welcome, or that he hoped they would find what they needed at our church. He told them that our church needed them. God had led them to that particular church not just for themselves, but because the church had a hole, or something that was missing, and they had what the rest of the church needed.
Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
1 Thessalonians 5:13b-15