Why do you go the church?

You will fill me with joy in your presence (Psalm 16:11).

Why do you go to church?

Some people go to church for pleasure.  They like singing familiar hymns.  They enjoy the musical offerings of praise bands, choirs and soloists.  They find pleasure in the message that Jesus loves them and will take them to heaven.  And they look forward to socializing with fellow members who they’ve known for years.

But what happens when church isn’t a ‘feel good’ experience?  How do such people react when the hymns for the day are new or unfamiliar?  Do they leave worship satisfied if the music was downbeat or played too loud?  How do they feel when the preacher criticizes something they enjoy doing as sinful?  How comfortable are they when a stranger sits next to them?  If these kinds of things happen too often, will they leave that church and seek out another?

We are emotional beings.  We tend to judge the value of things based on whether they make us feel good or bad.  It’s like the old Barbara Mandrell song—“How can it be wrong when it feels so right?”  When emotions and common sense butt heads, we usually go with our instincts; sadly, this generally gets us into trouble.  Emotions make you focus on right now when you should also be thinking about the future; emotions can make you so concerned with your own happiness that you fail to consider how others might feel. And emotions are slippery things, easy to manipulate.  A psychiatrist can medicate you into feeling good.  A charismatic politician can turn a crowd into an army that is ready to die for his cause.  But passionate emotions can change on a dime; just one wrong word can take you from the heights of ecstasy to the pit of despair, a reality that most teenagers have to deal with every single day. 

God made us emotional beings.  Regrettably, sin has made our feelings unstable and unreliable.  When emotions run the show, our relationship with God is disrupted—worship becomes about us and how we feel instead of showing honor to Christ and serving Him with our lives.  Time in church should make you feel better about your life, but it’s not a ‘happy pill’; worship is about your relationship with God’s beloved Son.