You Better Check Yourself

By: Randy Latner

Sometimes in our lives we have to take a step back and look at where our priorities truly are from time to time.  Let’s take a look at what are busy summers are like and I think you will see the point I’m driving at. We drive hundreds of miles just to see a desolate terrain of sand with non-drinking water crashing against it.  We spend a huge amount of hours on the roads of America visiting sites that we’ve already seen before in magazines, the internet or on the travel channel.  We run ourselves ragged to make sure that we don’t miss a birthday party, cookout, family reunion, date night, softball game, pool party, movie premier, or clothing sale at our local shopping center.  

So what happens to us on Sunday morning at 9am?  What about 6pm that very same day?  We get so wrapped up in our social lives at times that our spiritual lives tend to be placed on the backburner.  I’ve visited many congregations of the Lord’s Church in my lifetime and while I’m there, I like to take notice of the board that they post their attendance numbers on.  If you’re like me, you’ve always wondered where those 75 or more members are between 9 and 10 am.  Or even wondered why people seem to be so punctual on Facebook in their statuses but can’t even make it to worship on Sunday or to one night of Vacation Bible School.  

What’s the answer? What’s the solution?  In Luke Chapter 14 starting in verse 25, Christ talks about the cost of being His disciple.  He says that we will have to hate our families including ourselves if we truly want to be a follower of Him.  He then goes on to discuss in two separate examples where a builder isn’t able to finish building a tower because he didn’t count the cost and also where a king needs to figure out how many men it will take to win a war so he doesn’t have to send for help once the battle begins.  While there’s nothing wrong with any of the above mentioned events in our lives, I feel that so many of us fill our time with these things that we don’t have room for the Lord’s church and its’ activities. We aren’t willing to give up our social lives for the Cause of Christ and in turn if we are not careful we will place our own families and lives above His. I challenge you to look over your schedules this week and see where you can make adjustments to fit in time with your Christian family.  As the old saying goes, we better check ourselves, before we wreck ourselves. 

About the Author: Randy Latner is married to the love of his wife Mandy. He is a fireman for the city of Tuscaloosa. He is also a campus minister for the Cottondale church of Christ.