Once I received a call from a local pastor asking if I could drop by to see him the next time I was in his area. A few days later, I called to make sure he was in and went to the the church that he pastors. As we sat in his office talking, he shared with me that several of his couples had recently filed for divorce. He asked if I thought that a marriage conference would be in order to help his couples stay married.
When he finished, I began to speak about the spiritual condition of our churches in this nation. . I talked about how busyness within churches was somehow being misinterpreted as spirituality. I then said that this was partially the result of the busyness in families being misinterpreted as a normal, healthy family lifestyles. I shared my observations of how Christians have exchanged their peace, serenity, and godliness for this hectic lifestyle.
I was surprised by his lack of positive response and it seemed that I was telling him something he really didn’t want to hear. Possibly that could have been because his own family could have been guilty of the very same thing.
Finally, I said that he could certainly conduct a marriage seminar once or twice a year, but suggested that he should not get his hopes up. Until his people choose to come out of a lifestyle that puts activities and recreation before God, a marathon of seminars will not help. They will simply slip back into the same rut again tipping God every now and then with a few dollars and a few minutes of their time.
On the way out of his office, I got the feeling that he wished he’d never invited me over for that talk. Oh well, that’s my message and I’m sticking to it!
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10