Are we just playing church?

When my kids were small, they loved to play house. We would turn a card table, a blanket and camping lanterns into a a "playhouse". With the blanket draped over the card table, they would set housekeeping up inside. Pillows to sit on, plates and cups set up to eat from and camping lanterns lit inside as their lamps. The kids would even make drawings and tape them on the inside of the blanket as if they had art on their walls. This makeshift "house" fullfilled their imagination for hours.

Eventually my kids outgrew this game of playing house. Wouldn't we think it odd to see grown ups still playing "house"? But yet, we don't think it odd or think much of grown ups playing "church".
Whenever we place anything else, other than Jesus, as the most important thing in church life, we begin to play church.

Jesus is the most important thing in church, it is not the programs, it is not how many are in attendance, and it is not even about how much money is given in the offering. Jesus STARTED the church and He DIED for the church, however, He NEVER started a building fund!

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for taking care of the church. In fact, I think that we SHOULD take care of God's house. The carpet shouldn't be raggedy, the paint shouldn't be peeling and by all means God's house should be clean. After all, we wouldn't want our own house to falter in these things, so why would we permit the house of our Lord to fall and crumble?

Sometimes, we outgrow our space and it may be time to build or purchase something bigger, many churches have experienced this and resorted to starting building funds. I have contributed towards such funds in the past. Building funds are not bad, in fact, it can be good, especially to provide more space for new Christians coming into the fellowship. However, when the building funds, or building a bigger church becomes the main focus of each service, I have to ask myself if this is what God was talking about when He said He would "Build His church"?

MATTHEW 16:18 "...upon this rock I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not prevail it."

Jesus did not die for buildings. The church is not a building. It is people, His people. When Jesus spoke to the Apostles about the church He founded, He said it was going to be built on the One thing that would outlast everything else...it would be built upon Him!

Jesus is calling us, His church, to be ready for He is coming for His bride one day. Nobody knows the time or day of His coming, but we must be ready for His return. He is looking for a spotless church, not a clean building with perfect carpet, but He is looking for a church (His people) who have put Him first in everything.

When we begin to implement man made ideas in the church, we are literally ignoring God for what He founded the church upon...

"These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God." MATTHEW 16:18 (NLT)

Almost everyday I run into someone who is looking for authentic love, but they don't seem to be looking for it at church. This hurts my heart, and it makes me wonder if we have gotten too caught up in new programs and new buildings instead of reaching out to new converts.

Just as my kids outgrew playing house, it is my prayer that we will outgrow playing church as well and get back to the basics...the basics that His church was founded upon. Buildings are nice, but people are more important. May we be careful of what we are investing in.