Watching Church

In these days of Coronavirus, churches have been unable to meet together physically. However, this has not prevented churches from seeking other alternatives. Most of the larger churches across our nation have simply live-streamed their worship services, encouraging those in the congregation to log in to watch church.

This means that across our land, worship bands are playing to empty auditoriums. And pastors are preaching to empty pews. All the while, people are at home, on their couches, idly watching the participants on the screen worship God and preach to them. Admittedly, something is lacking in this dynamic.

When people attend a worship service on a Sunday morning, they are able to engage. They can sing together with the throng. “I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you” (Psalm 35:18). They can amen the preacher. They can fellowship with those who attend the service.

In other words, worship services aren’t merely vertical toward God. They are also horizontal. You talk with people on the way in. You interact with people on the way out. You are encouraged by others. You seek to be an encouragement to others (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Sadly, all of this is lacking in the live-stream experience. We know this. There’s a big difference between watching church and being engaged in church.

Betcha can’t eat just one!

In the 1960’s the Frito-Lay company introduced it’s famous slogan, “Betcha can’t eat just one!” They popularized it by a very successful advertisement campaign both in print and on television.

We all have experienced it. We eat one potato chip and it tastes so good that we crave another one. This often leads to many more chips being consumed. There’s something about the fat and the seasonings on the chip lead us to crave more and more. Even when we aren’t hungry, once tasted, the chips can seem irresistible. It’s called “hedonic hyperphagia,” eating for pleasure.

The same is often true with sin. Rare is the time that we only commit one sin. Sin will often lead to more sin, either because we desire the pleasure or because we are forced to deal with the consequences.

This was the case with Adam and Eve. She sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. She further sinned by enticing her husband. They both sinned by trying to hide their sin from God. You can read about it in Genesis 3.

This was the case with king David. He sinned with Bathsheba. It didn’t stop there. It continued on with his cover-up plan. When Uriah didn’t go along with the plan, he ended up having him killed in battle. Then, more and more deceit as David refused to acknowledge his sin. You can read all about it in 2 Samuel 11-12.

The solution is to be aware of this tendency of our hearts and confess our sin quickly. David explained his trouble. “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long” (Psalm 32:3). But when he confessed his sin to the Lord (Psalm 32:5), he found great blessing (Psalm 32:1-2).

Backing In

I was recently listening to one of my favorite podcasts, “Planet Money.”  The show was entitled, “Tips from Spies.” The folks at Planet Money talked with a former spy, a former C. I. A. employee, and a journalist who isn’t a spy, but covers spy-related activities for the media.

One of the tips that the journalist gave is something that she has learned by talking with intelligence personnel: she always backs into parking spots. Her reasoning is simple: “So that you can get out of a bad situation fast.” In acknowledging her practice, she laughed when admitting that she “never once been called to make a running getaway. But I wait for the moment.”

This is a helpful illustration of how to be ready for temptations that come. Paul writes, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). What a great promise! God tells us that no temptation comes our way without a provided way of escape.

That escape may be through the Scriptures (see Matthew 4:1-11). It may be through the warning of others. It may be through the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.  But it is incumbent upon us to be ready and aware of the escape route. We may need “to get out of a bad situation fast.” It’s good to have a habit of “backing in.”