“And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest” (Judges 17:12-13)
I watched my five-month-old niece yesterday. Considering my son is now nine years-old, I was a bit concerned that I’d forgotten the routine—but we did quite well. I kept her changed. I kept her entertained. I rocked her to sleep. I acknowledged when I thought she might be hungry, after testing her with a pacifier.
Pacifiers are interesting things, aren’t they? A contoured piece of plastic used to calm, soothe and put-off the inevitable—eating. A man-made contraption that takes the place of what’s really needed, wanted or desired. A distraction, one might say. You see, my niece would suck on her pacifier contentedly until she discovered what she really wanted, formula, was not being provided. And then? The pacifier gets popped out and attempts to get my attention began.
We as church goers know about pacifiers, don’t we? We know how to fill our Sundays with everything from small group studies, tours of duty in the nursery and committee meetings. We volunteer for the kids’ programs and raise our hands when the preacher’s needing someone to organize an event. We’re quick each Sunday morning to sprint to our seat, sing to the best of our abilities and stand and sit at the appropriate times. All in the name of looking good. All to appease our desire to please God. All to pacify our heart’s longing to be holy.
The time for pacifiers is over. The day and age has arrived that we need to be solely committed to worship and faithfulness. Will that entail being on the boards, program planning committees and volunteer list? Of course. Will those tasks take the place of heartfelt worship of our Savior? Absolutely not.
It’s time we re-evaluate our reasons for attending church. Is it to be pacified into believing all the good things we’ve told others about ourselves? Is it to pacify the desire to be admired among our Christian friends? Is it to pacify conviction in our hearts over what we’ve not given to Him? Is it all about Him, or is it all about us?
Malinda Edgell
Illinois
PRAY TOGETHER: Spend quality quiet time with God today.
