I MUST GO TO CHURCH???

Warning: This post is not for "staunch believers" post may provoke thoughts...


Back in high school, our English teacher came to class one day and told us to write an essay on "why people go to church"...
And then the fuss began... That's such a stupid topic! Duh! Why would people got to church if not to pray? Why does he always have to show himself? I'm not writing this, he can do whatever he wants...

Obviously, my classmates were not buying that idea, it was simply a waste of time to write on church going, he should have said something like "causes of road accidents" and then he would have been a serious teacher, but there he was talking about why people go to church.
I, on my own part couldn't just help but laugh at their "shallow mindedness" ( in my head). Of course it was a beautiful topic to write on! I'd definitely write it. I had no second thoughts on my stance. I was ready to slam those who labelled others "bad" because they (others) didn't go to church (Probably because I had grown skeptical about Church-going). The excitement was really burning in me...

Ok, let's forget about the ambition of some high school kid to impress his teacher and talk real talk here...

Do we really have to go to church? Do we "Christians" have to feel guilty for not going to church? Is it a sin if you don't go to church? Why should it be?

Having these questions in my head I began writing what would become very complex to do initially, and then become my favourite essay later.
I'll save you the sententious and didactic details of it all and just make my point here.

In the essay, I introduced three groups of people who go to church and why they do so.
They were the christan fashionistas/fashionistos, the pessimistic churchgoers and the CHRISTIANS. (CHRISTIANS??? Aren't they all Christians???  You'll understand better as you read on).

So the Christian fashionistas/fashionistos in the essay are basically those who go to church for the sake of their yearning to flaunt their clothes, critique the dressing styles of others and (sometimes) watch out for latest trends. This group falls under the larger group of the "CHURCH POLYGAMISTS" (that my mother would rather call church prostitutes😂😂😂) because they are ever ready to go to the next church that has the most "current" people in the world of fashion.


The Pessimistic Churchgoers. These ones go to church because they feel like its an obligatian. The pessimistic ones don't go to church because they love love God (which they may obviously do), they go to church because they think that God would get angry with them if they didn't. They are also church polygamists as they seem to honour every invitation they get to a church. This is because to them, going to church pleases God hence, dishonouring an invitation would mean dishonouring God and God wouldn't waste time to throw them in hell if they dishonoured Him. I like to think that they are closest to the unevolved African in the "African  Religous Evolution" series. This is because the unevolved African in the series who worshipped other gods harboured some sort of fear for his god in him because as seen in such historic films and books that point toward that era, man had to undergo certain punishments or offer sacrifices whenever he committed any offence. It is this mentality, this same fear that exists in the minds of these pessimists. They fail to realise that the Christian God of the 21st century isn't the same as the 14th century amadioha or Ogun. The God of today is the one who is much slower to anger and always tampers justice with mercy.

The Christians: they are the only genuine church-goers. Only they comprehend the full meaning of going to church and being a christian; they have the church in their hearts and don't limit it to just a building. The christians are the ones who go about their religous duties with happiness. They are the ones who smile uncontrolably during the rendition of a beautiful number by the choir. They are sincerely proud of their religion and don't do anything to impress the clergy or other church members.


Somewhere in between lies the "Periodic church-goers" who possess the characteristics of the Christians and the Pessimists but are propelled to the church by life's challenges. Like the Christians, they are very committed to the church but only when they have enough financial problems. Like the pessimists, they are always apologetic for not going to church when things are good with them. It is this set that the "annointing" does not ever miss. They are sure to always hit the ground when the preacher starts praying radically.

My conclusion....

I think that in our present day, we have lost the idea of why the church was even instituted.
The church was supposed to be a medium for all christians to come together in oneness. When Jesus talked about "the rock" he didn't say "churches" it was a singular noun: "Church". But today because of the diverse ideas and opinions carried by different people, the church or chuches have now become a media for aggravating contempt among Christians hence, causing division. One church says marriage is "for better for worse" another says it is "for better for best". Another church says we should pray to Saints while another says it is idolatry, a sacrilege.
So what then should we believe in, since the people propounding all these theological theories are supposedly directed by the Holy Ghost??? Shouldn't this even be the real sacrilege: portraying the Holy Spirit as a confused confusionist???

Share your thoughts in the comment box... What do you think of church-going???

Comments

Popular Posts