Okay, here is the first thought in a series of thoughts on priority toward our spiritual formation.
There are 24 hours in a day. 7 days in a week. So, there are 168 hours in a week. If we work an average 8 hours a day for 5 – 6 days per week, then we work on average 40-48 hours per week.
This leaves us with 120 – 128 hours. If we follow the recommended pattern for rest, then we get 8 hours of sleep per night. This leaves us with 64 – 72 hours for personal, family and/or leisure time.
For the purposes of this discussion, the average "dedicated" churchgoer attends church, or church related Bible studies, about 4 hours per week. 4 hours! Out of 64 – 72 hours, only 4 of those are devoted to church. Comparatively speaking, that is a very minimal amount of time to give to the one who created you, saved you, and loves you.
Okay, I am serious here. I recently received a complaint from a member of my church that the service was too long. Seriously!? On average, our Sunday morning worship runs about 1.5 hours. The member that complained, very seldom if ever comes to worship. Dare I say I can't even remember the last time I saw him/her in a Bible class. So, in short, out of a whopping 64 – 72 hours left over in his/her week, 1.5 hours was too much to devote to worshipping God. Is that asking too much, really?
Priorities…how can we ever expect to deepen our relationship with God if we can't even worship him for more than an hour per week!? The sad part…this isn't the first (nor will it be the last) time I have heard this complaint from a member of my church.
2 comments:
You're right and you know our priorities would change drastically if we realized that we are "royalty" - a bona fide member of the Royal Family. Wow !!
Can you imagine what a radical change we would see in our daily conduct if every Christian could wrap their mind around that concept? A true sense of belonging to God the Father through Jesus Christ should give me a better understanding of the responsibility that comes with upholding my "royal family" name. Hmmm....that's something I definitely need to work on.
It is true! Knowing whose we are, and what awaits us, ought to spur on a deeper sense of devotion and dedication.
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