Resources/Articles
Absenteeism Does Not Kill The Church
Absenteeism does not kill churches for the simple reason that absenteeism is not the disease, but a symptom — and symptoms do not kill.
“Symptom” is defined as “any condition accompanying or resulting from a disease and serving as an aid in diagnosis.” Absenteeism can be the symptom of many things: a lack of love, unbelief, selfishness, worldliness, lust, or indifference. These things produce undesirable fruits in our lives.
A person who is more concerned with his own pleasure or relaxation than with the things of the Lord may be found somewhere other than in God’s house on the Lord’s Day. That person’s trouble is not in being absent, but in whatever caused him to be absent.
Another person may not give as he or she has been prospered. The real problem may actually be covetousness. That person keeps for him- or herself what is rightfully God’s.
One of the reasons for our slow progress in the Lord’s church is our widespread practice of working on the symptoms rather than the disease. We harp on one’s being absent when we would do well to spend the time in cultivating his or her love for the Lord, enlightening him or her about the values of regularity of worship and the dangers of neglect, and in building up his or her faith and confidence in God. We should introduce that person to the joy of serving a soul!
