Monday, December 22, 2014

Congregations and Other Drunks

This is a terrible thing for me to do--comparing church congregations to a bunch of drunks. Of course, I don't mean all congregations, just the hyped up holies who lose their religion as soon as they reach the parking lot. Literally.

A friend told of attending a megachurch. As he prepared to drive away from the lot, someone who felt he had been cut off by my friend gave him the "finger". So disillusioning! At least they could have waited until they were out of the parking lot!

What I am speaking of is special behavior reserved for being in church. There are special tones of voice, special "churchy" smiles, and what troubles me the most are the dazed eyes some people have. That's where the allusion to drunks comes in. Do these people love the Lord all week long, or just on Sundays?

I have been around for almost eight decades, and in that time have seen plenty of drunks and a few mentally disturbed people. In both cases, I have had the feeling that reason has left them.

"Mere reason has been replaced by the Holy Spirit," some will say. I wish this was true, but whatever spirit many have, disappears when they leave the church property. Expressions change, even voices change. If God were to say, "Come, let us reason together," they would have to say, "I can't reason, I'm too filled with the spirit."

Paul is a wonderful example of a person who had both the Holy Spirit and reason at the same time. The presence of the Spirit of God should enlighten us and increase our reasoning. Whatever takes over these people must be something else altogether.

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