Driving back from the airport last Saturday ...

Saturday morning 6am, I was driving back from the airport trying to decide whether to attend a men’s breakfast. When I have a decision to make, I often set up a conversation between myself and “God”. The “God” side of the discussion argues for what I think to be God’s position on the matter.

So brace yourself. You are about to get a glimpse into the murky workings of my mind. I hope you are not of a nervous disposition! Here goes:

“Why so grumpy?”

“I’m not.”

“Yes you are. Don’t think you can hide it from me.”

“Ok, so I’m looking grumpy. It’s because I have to go to the men’s breakfast, and I don’t want to.”

“Why do you HAVE TO GO?”

“Erm... because I am the pastor...?”

“Is someone forcing you to go because you are the pastor?”

“No, nobody is forcing me to go. I just think I ought to go.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to go because you WANT to go?”

“Look, I don’t WANT to go OK!”

Silence...

“Ian.”

“Yes.”

“What if I told you that I want to refresh you at the Men’s Breakfast?”

The thought that God might have plans to refresh me brought tears to my eyes. My emotions, my spirit, my entire being said, “YES, Lord, I want to be refreshed. I need to be refreshed”. And so I went to the meeting because I wanted to. And I WAS refreshed!

But why is it that we so often go to or stay away from meetings for the wrong reasons? Why do we go under a sense of obligation to God or people? Why do we go just because we feel compelled to go? Do we feel compelled because we want to earn the approval of God and others?

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, asking them to take up a collection for the poor in Jerusalem, he said:

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).

I think we should apply this principle to other areas of our lives. Imagine a church were everyone served with cheerful willingness and a sense of God’s purpose in all they were doing.  Yes, even in the matter of attending meetings, we should go to God and ask Him to impress on our hearts what He wants us to do, and then do it willingly and cheerfully. In this way, we will attend or miss meetings or courses for the right reasons.

Sometimes, however, we miss for the wrong reasons. We throw up barriers which prevent us from finding the good reasons FOR doing something. For example, “I don’t do men’s meetings”.  Such an axiom is usually established to cover a deeper reason for not attending. It could be, “I am anxious that nobody will talk to me.” Or perhaps, “I might be asked to share or pray out loud.” Are these things really that terrible? Would it harm you if nobody talked to you? It might be unpleasant, but if God shows you a compelling reason for attending surely that would outweigh a little discomfort? And if you do not want to share or pray, nobody can force you to. A polite, “I would rather not pray/share” would suffice.

Another bad reason for missing is failure to consider attending. Simple selfishness and lack of concern for the purposes of God often cause me to overlook opportunities to bless or be blessed, to receive or to contribute. Just because I feel a lack of conscience about missing something doesn’t necessarily mean I am in the will of God. The important thing is to consciously seek God and His purposes.

I hope this makes as much sense to you as it makes to me. Let us make decisions with God’s help, and then we will DO and NOT DO things for the right reasons. And when we do things we will do them willingly, joyfully and with an awareness of God and His purposes.

Cheers for now - Ian