Three Reasons why Literally Anybody Should Go to Church this Weekend

First, we are an overly busy society. Don't you remember when you used to ask someone how they were and they would respond "fine" or "good?" Now they respond "busy.” Nearly half of American workers report that they work around 50 hours a week at work, to say nothing of the countless other activities like sports, housework, and other hobbies. 750 million accumulated vacation days go unused and most people admit that they do work even when on vacation. At least a third of Americans do not get the sleep they should because they are trying to get all the to-dos done.

Come to church and be not so busy. One of the central ideas behind Christian worship is that of Sabbath, that of stopping work to rest. Turn your phone off, sit in a pew, and try to forget about all that you have convinced yourself must be done.

Secondly, we are a very isolated society. I have become convinced this is so true that most of us don't even know how to enjoy being with other people for very long. We can't eat together because we all have such specific tastes. We can't speak together because our opinions will soon clash. Over 50% of people say they feel alone most or at least a lot of the time.

Come to church. It is by its very nature a communal event. We speak words in unison. We greet strangers. We talk about things that have engaged varied people across cultures and ages. Come out of your hole and you might be made whole.

Thirdly, we are a culture drowning in information. The enlightenment over hundreds of years created a monster which none of us can stand against. Studies report that most of us spend seven hours looking at screens that are delivering to us fact after fact or lie after lie, depending on what you are reading. But it is all information, whether good or bad. Humanity creates 403 million terabytes of new data every single day.

Come to church. It's not that there's no information given there but it is that the main idea is that we would come and meditate upon a few pieces of important information rather than researching every last thing our mind latches on to for even a second. We try to think deeply on deep things rather than thinking very shallowly about a million things. So hit delete on that latest AI inquiry. Stop pursuing your self-accredited online doctorate in this or that unimportant topic. Come and think about things that are good deeply instead of everything shallowly.

To be honest I don't think these are the best reasons to come to church. I'm a Christian pastor who believes that God himself is present through his Son in church to give out both temporal and eternal gifts. I believe those gifts are more important than anything. That's actually why I come to church. That, and I am the pastor.

But even if you don't believe any of that yet, you should still come to church. Come, as we seek to be less busy, seek to be together with others, and seek to meditate on lasting truths.