Resources/Articles
Are You About To Drop Out?
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth,
take heed lest he fall.
1 Corinthians 10:12
A man can boost his pride by thinking, “I can’t believe what they have done. It’ll never happen to me. I’ll never make that mistake. I love the Lord.”
Have you ever given consideration to leaving the Lord? Most would not admit it, but some may have considered leaving the church. Some would say leaving the church does not mean they have left the Lord. Think about this. Are you about ready to quit for awhile? Is religion taking too much of your time? Has it cramped your life? Is it not giving you the liberty you wish you had?
Deciding to “drop out of church” is a slow process. It is a real danger every Christian needs to be on watch for and consider seriously the consequences of making such a decision. If you are not sure if you are about to drop out, here are some warning signs:
- If you were never closer to God than you are now, you are in danger of dropping out.
- You are forgetting to read your Bible. You are on the edge. There was a time when the Bible had a vital place in your life, but you have cut yourself off from the wisdom of God and replaced it with the ideas of man.
- You have ceased to pray. You no longer seek God’s guidance. God seems further and further away.
- You begin to criticize others. You try to ease your conscience by making out others to be worse than you.
- You no longer feel the need to save souls. You feel sorrow about how corrupt people are and cannot see how they live that way, but you pass it off as “their problem,” not yours. Also, it concerns you about the money spent on evangelism.
- You become irregular in attendance. You do not feel you are getting much out of the services. When you do attend, you sit as far back as possible. Just about anything could cause you to miss.
- You give less of your money or stop giving. You rationalize your decrease in giving on “tough times,” while all your possessions show signs of your increased prosperity.
A sober consideration of the following passages may assist you in confronting your problem and keep you from “dropping out.” Keep in mind “dropping out” is your way of saying God’s way is not the best way and your way is better (Proverbs 14:12; Isaiah 55:8,9).
Matthew 13:41 - Luke 9:62 - 2 Peter 2:20-22 - Hebrews 3:12,13
