Playing Church

We talked about the Tabernacle last week in our homeschooling. We didn't go into the little specifics, but we did a pretty good little overview. I found some pictures online of what scholars perceive it to have looked like. Well then, my children took over our living room and turned it into a tabernacle. They let the dog in, but they made him promise that he was a high priest. In our overview, we learned that the Tabernacle was used for Old Testament worship. So of course they started doing their style of worship. They were playing church in there. DS was leading DD in singing, he was preaching, praying, and they even had pretend Lord's Supper. It was all so cute! They did this for several hours (although the dog escaped after a few minutes) until the sheets that made up the tabernacle started to cave in with the help of some cats... Then they played like a tornado had come and destroyed the tabernacle and they should build it up again in 3 days. I had so many laughs watching them and listening to them play! But that's what children do - they play and pretend like they see happening in life. They play church, house, tornado, going to the store, all kinds of things. I believe it's part of how children learn and process things. They just play.

But that's all it is. Play. I was in college and feeling rather worn out with what I perceived as Christianity. I was going to church when I should, doing everything I was supposed to, being a "good little Christian". But in my heart, I knew something was missing. I was really worried about it! Something was wrong! I talked to my professors, called home to my parents, talked to my friends. No one really understood what I was trying to say, and finally one of my suite mates told me it was just one of those times people just have to fake it till you make it. I tried that for a couple of weeks, and called to talk to my mama. I cried for a while and told her as best as I could what was wrong, and she told me something I will never forget. She told me that it sounded like I was doing everything right. But we can't do our way into heaven. She said my heart wasn't in the right place. I was going to church and doing all those things because I thought that's what was expected of me. Doing those things wasn't wrong, but I should have been doing them because I love God and couldn't NOT do them. I was just going to classes every day, and I should have been sharing Jesus with folks. I was at a Christian University, and there weren't very many non-Christians there. While I definitely grew in faith while I was there, I used that isolation as an excuse to keep quiet about Jesus. I'm so glad my mama had the wisdom and insight to tell me what I needed to hear and tell me what I needed to change to get right!

That's one of the things children need. They need their parents to show them what is right and wrong. As a child grows up, they don't need to play church anymore. They should be transitioning into adult life and learning how to be participating Christians. We have to put away childish things, and this is one of them (I Corinthians 13:11). My parents took my questions seriously and answered them and taught me. Just for the record, if I wouldn't have changed my attitude, it probably would not have been long before I stopped going to church at all. What's the point of pretending? You can't just go through the motions and expect things to get better on their own. When people play church, obviously they aren't there because they want to be. They feel obligated to for whatever reason. Maybe family goes and expects to see them every service, or maybe they feel like they should at least be seen so no one thinks they have fallen away.

Where we live, people think if you go to church, you must be a good Christian. That's not all there is to it according to the Bible. That's only a small part of it. Christianity is not only going to church for worship, but it's everything we believe with our heart, it's fellowship with other Christians, and it's helping people out and being there for them. It's how we LIVE. Playing church as an adult causes a person to look for a church situation where they are emotionally satisfied after the service or entertained appropriately while they are there. Maybe they just want to feel encouraged to make the same effort again next week. The emphasis shifts to self instead of where it should be on God.

God never asks for worship to include our silly little games and gimmicks to attract more people. If the Gospel is being preached, no gimmicks will be needed. God's Word brings people in. God's Word will convict people in their heart, and God's Word will show them what they need to do. If you find yourself playing church or going through the motions, find you a church home that focuses on the Word. Then it's a lot easier to get your attitude in the right place.