Walk-in Promises

It's not uncommon for us here in the church office to have people unrelated to our church just drop by and ask for financial assistance in some form or another. It's never an easy task to determine if we can help and for how much. We certainly cannot afford to meet every request, and there are some who are obviously just working the system. It's the real needs for those who will not squander our help that we try to help first.

But there's one interesting recurring theme among many of these requests. So many times I've heard the one making the request say that they will be sure to join us on the coming Sunday, or even attend regularly. Some will go so far as to say they've been meaning to try out our church for a long time. And not a single one has ever made good on that promise, whether we help them or not.

I'm not bothered by that, because 1) I've learned to pay no attention to such promises, and 2) our help for them is in no way related to whether or not they will visit us. Some think we'll be more likely to help them if they make that promise, but actually I'm a little less likely to help when they promise to attend because it makes me think they are trying to manipulate the situation. Rightly or wrongly, my skepticism kicks in. We will choose to help someone whether or not they show up the next Sunday.

We'd love to have people visit us, whether or not we've helped them financially. But I have no interest in someone attending in order to secure some financial assistance. Attending our church is not doing us a favor - but we pray that the opposite is true, that their attendance does them a big spiritual favor.

Which got me to thinking...

I wonder how many people in churches all across the country are attending churches merely in order to secure some form of assistance from the church, whether it is financial, emotional, or even spiritual. As if attending was doing the leadership a favor, they attend only to keep the handouts coming. They "purchase" their benefits by showing up. I know of no one (other than Christ) whose mere attendance is that valuable!

The church should be a place where people find help for physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. No question. But it is an organism, not a dispensary. All forms of help from the church come from the Body functioning as a body. Sometimes, people are not in a place where they can help others much, but ideally, the Body is an interactive set of relationships from which we find help from one another, and ultimately from the Lord.

Attendance in church should normally be an effort to be a functioning part of that body, not "payment for services rendered." You don't do me any favors by showing up - but you do me tremendous favors by praying for me and with me, comforting me when I'm sad or sick, speaking God's truth to me, and being my true friend.

If you ever find yourself attending a church as a mental bargain for services rendered, stop. Keep attending, but stop attending for that reason. Your mere presence, quite frankly, isn't that valuable. Attend for far more valuable reasons: To be part of a living body.