Many parents remember the sight of their children “playing church.” I remember our children doing the same, holding a song book before they were able to read, or doing the same with a Bible, and of course the precious prayers they would offer. Such memories are special and treasured possessions, especially when they grow up and translate those actions of childhood to a lifestyle in adulthood.
While playing church is endearing when it involves children, it is sad when members of the Lord’s church play church. How do we play church? We play church when the kingdom of God becomes a matter of convenience rather than a matter of commitment. We play church when we pick and choose when to attend worship, rather than having an intense desire to be in God’s presence, to worship and praise our Creator and Sustainer, our Lord and Savior. We play church when we prefer the company of worldly minded folks and pursue worldly activities rather than have fellowship with our family in Christ. We play church when we take no thought to how we give for the work of the kingdom, but make sure our financial resources are available for whatever we want personally. We play church when there are opportunities of service that we can be involved with, but we choose not to get involved, as we allow secular pursuits to occupy our time. Like little children, it’s easy to play church when it’s expedient, but to also walk away from it for other pursuits when desired.
Paul reminded the Corinthians, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11, HCSB). To obey the gospel means we let go of self and submit to God, making His will our will, allowing Him to shape us in His image and fit us for eternity. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness...” (Matt. 6:33). This is what Paul was seeking in his own life when he said, “But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head—Christ” (Eph. 4:15). And what of his statement in Gal. 2:20; “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
Living as a Christian isn’t a game we play in life; it is life. Christians shouldn’t view their faith as a game, a choice one makes when to engage in it, and when to ignore it. We need to, as one person put it, “move away from the ‘Member of the Christian Club’ mentality that defines much of the way we do business as church attendees.” “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).
The Hebrew writer urges us, “Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne” (Heb. 12:2). Coming to earth wasn’t a game to Jesus, and the cross wasn’t child’s play. Neither should life in the body of Christ be to us. There are blessings to be found, joy to cheer our hearts, and hope to encourage us, if we mature and serve. What is the Christian life, the church, to you? “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn’” (Matt. 11:17-17).
Robert Johnson
