Take Me To Church
It is not about the location or size of the congregation, it's about the message and the belief in something bigger than yourself.
I recently attended a church service with one of my best friends who frequents this particular church. She had been asking me for the past two weeks to join her, but the timing never seemed right for me. That is to say that no I am not an avid church-goer even though I am catholic. Yes, I am a terrible catholic.
Now, this particular church was not a catholic one, and to be honest as far as I know it was a Christian church and I do not care too much which denomination it falls under. To me, that is all semantics and really has nothing to do with the focus of this article.
I have attended various types of denominational church services. What I have taken away from each event is that they all provide a definitively different experience.
No church is the same, and the reason why I do not regularly attend one is not for my own lack of faith in a God, or not being able to find the church for me, but it is because I have come to firmly believe that my faith is not limited by four walls built to worship. My body itself was made specifically as my very own temple in which to worship the God I believe in. I can get on my knees and pray wherever I see fit.
Secondly, something happened at that church service that has not happened in a very long time and I believe it is something that does not happen frequently to people. I listened to the message the pastor said and for once it actually related to the world we live in today, it related to human beings who are inherently morally flawed.
This pastor actually talked about what really matters; human beings who are less than perfect and the constant effort that we should be putting into being our best-selves for God (or whichever higher power).
The topic for today was generosity. Do we live as generous human beings? Are we willing to give to others without expectation of receiving anything in return? Most importantly, are you putting your entire self, faith, trust, expectations in God (higher power)?
God (higher power) owns everything on this planet, and yet in this fast paced, instant gratification world, we feel as humans entitled to everything. Realistically we own nothing, because when we die we can't actually take all of our materials with us. What we can do is not succumb to material objects, letting them own us, our hearts and lives. What we should be doing is giving what we can to those that have less, because those who give begrudgingly are rewarded ten-fold.
Now, again: I am not an avid church-goer. I will not recite phrases of scripture by memory. As far as my faith goes, it's in God and I don't think I have to know any of those versus by memory to prove my love for him. I prove that everyday by my actions and in the way I thank him (God and/or higher power). Which is why again, the point of this article is to talk about what really matters. It is not the church, denomination, or congregation, it is indeed the message and how clearly the pastor, priest, whatever is able to give that message.
We are stuck in a world where people are constantly putting others down because they are not perfect. Reality check, no one is. There will always be someone better than you in every shape or form, but what matters is that you work to be the best version of yourself. What matters is that at the end of the day you are at the very least trying the best you can to be a good person. That person that God (higher power) wants you to be. Lucky for you, he does not expect perfection, nor does he ask for it. He just wants an honest attempt.
I went to church recently and I did not regret the learning experience. Stay open-minded people and keep listening for an honest message.
