Myth: Going to church to set an example for others around me is a good reason to go to church.
False
While going to church is a good example it should not be the primary reason that we go to church. Attending solely to set an example for someone else may be one of the main reasons that people don’t go to church… because they find hypocrites.
Think with me for a moment. Why did the Pharisees go to the Synagogue? Was it worship God? Or was it to be an example to all those that weren’t good enough to wear the religious clothes of the day? The Pharisees went to church to “set an example” they prayed so that they might “set an example”. The fact of the matter is people who attend church only to set an example are people who think of themselves to highly and lack humility.
In Matthew 6 Jesus speaks about the how and why of the Christian life. He uses the Pharisees (hypocritets) as an example of exactly how NOT to act. See the Pharisees thought they had it figured out, they did what they could to show people that the way that they did church was the right way. Not by living in a way that reflected Christ, but in a way that brought attention to themselves.
My first semester of college I remember my RD Mike Jones (yes that really was his name) sitting everyone down in the balcony bleachers of Spartanburg Methodist’s gym and saying “do not, do not, do not, do not, do not, do not, do not, do not… DO NOT break the following rules.” I knew that he had placed emphasis on those rules. There were some that if you broke you were doomed and others that were more hall based rules of courtesy.
In Matt 6 Jesus uses the phrase (NIV) “Do not” 15 times. He takes it further than the 10 Commandments which just list, he says do not be like the hypocrites that give, pray, and fast. Why? Because they are only doing so to be an example and be looked up to by others. They Only desired power.
Many times I have tried to demonstrate how to do something and failed miserably. That is why I will often give a disclaimer before I do something… especially cooking. The problem with doing something SOLELY to be an example is that no one is perfect, we will fail, but if we are doing this in a church only to be seen and fail then we ourselves have become the very hypocrites that opposed Christ.
So, why do you go to church?
