Excuses - "Church is too emotional for me."

Sacrifice. It is a word rich in spirituality. It means giving up something precious to someone else. God sacrificed His son, Jesus, for us. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins so that those who believe can be restored in a relationship with God the Father. We also talk about the word sacrifice within the context of our military and law enforcement personnel. These men and women sacrifice their lives to protect the world from tyranny. Parents make sacrifices, too, often giving up what they want or even need for family, especially children.

For the four years that I was in high school, I was a member of our school’s Key Club, which at that time was a young men’s service organization sponsored internationally by Kiwanis International, a community men’s service organization. I had a lot of success in Key Club, serving our local club as president, serving as a Georgia lieutenant governor, and finally serving as Georgia’s state governor during my senior year. As I advanced, the opportunities followed. I was able to attend international conventions at major U.S. cities, attend leadership development seminars in Chicago, and spent a long weekend at a leadership event at Valley Forge. I also had to have clothes to wear on all these trips. And, it all cost a lot of money. I was the oldest of four mouths to feed, and our country was mired in an economic recession not unlike the one we live in today. Times were tough. I had a part-time job at the local newspaper and so I was able to contribute to my own personal expenses. The organizations I served contributed, too. But, there was a gap that our family had to fill, financially. It would have been easy for my parents to sit me down and say, “You can’t pursue these opportunities because we just can’t afford it.” It would have put me in a position to make a sacrifice. But, they did not do that. Instead, they bore the sacrifice. We’ve never talked about it, but I know my mom, personally, visited with civic leaders to help raise money for me to be a leader in Georgia’s Key Club. I have a hunch my mom and dad sought out donations from family, which would not have been easy discussions. My dad got up before dark, drove to Atlanta every day, and got home about 10 p.m. to ensure the four of us children were able to do the things we wanted and needed to do as young people. My mom was almost never without a job during those times. And, while these were tense and stressful times, our family got through the valley okay. My parents sacrificed to see that their children did not; we children sacrificed by “not wanting” beyond what we needed.

It is very difficult for me to write and think about those days without becoming emotional. That doesn’t mean I always cry (though I have a lot). Sometimes the memories stir up compassion for and sacrifice for my own children, and for other people. Sometimes, the memories help me find a peaceful place, knowing that with our Lord all valleys come to an end. Mostly, memories of the sacrifices just weld deeper the love I have for my parents and family. When I think about how much I love them – well, tears of joy almost always follow in varying degrees. You see, sacrifice – a deeper, deeper form of giving – plows our lives together with others. We become so deeply woven that it’s impossible to avoid being emotional – even if it’s private – over the sacrifice.

Do you know why most people cry at the end of the move, “It’s A Wonderful Life”? It’s because George Bailey, at the end of his rope, is confronted by all his family and friends, who one-by-one express a level of compassion and sacrifice to help him out of the valley. Heck, I’m crying about it just writing these words. Understanding and appreciating sacrifice almost always brings about emotion.

 As tender as I am about my parents’ sacrifices, they do not hold a candle to the sacrifice of Jesus for me. As simply an analogy, I thought about my day on Saturday. I made a note of five times (I stopped at five – it was too painful) when I slipped into sinfulness (self-centeredness). Lust, self-pity, anger, pride, and arrogance. Those five sins – part of my sinful nature – are enough to keep me out of a relationship with God and destine me to an eternity separated from Him. But, because I have believed in and accepted Jesus’ sacrifice for me on the cross, and have confessed Jesus before men, those five sins and all my sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, restoring me with God. My eternity is secure with Him, and my eternity will be full of love, peace and worship. I want you to image the 7  billion people on this planet and cumulatively that there were about 35 billion sinful decisions just on Saturday. Imagine that number multiplied by every day past, present and future. Now, consider the pangs of guilt you and I feel after just one sin: We lose our temper over something self-centered, and are convicted that it was not the right response for a believer. We experience guilt and pain over it. Multiply that pain by 35 billion x all the days of the Earth. That’s the weight of the sin that Jesus bore when He sacrificed Himself on the cross for us. No mortal could bear that kind of ugliness, guilt and pain. But, what’s worse, God turned His back on Jesus because of the sins He bore. I can’t wrap my head around that much pain – pain that my sin contributed to the sacrificial pain of One who loves me above all others.

Sometimes, I am reminded of Jesus sacrifice for me through a song I hear. Sometimes, I think of Jesus sacrifice in the quiet of the night or the quiet of the morning. Sometimes, I think of Jesus sacrifice while preparing a Sunday School lesson. Sometimes, I think of Jesus sacrifice while in corporate worship at our church. It is impossible for me to think about Jesus on the cross for me (knowing my name) and not feel something – emotional. Sometimes, I just stop and cry. Sometimes, I lift my arms to the Lord and just praise His name. Sometimes, I just go to prayer, reminding Him how sorry I am for my sinful nature and reminding Him of how much I love Him. I pour out my gratitude for not abandoning me and for crossing my life with believers who can encourage and correct me. Almost always, I can feel Him with me during those times, reminding me of the peace coming from His sacrifice.

As we examine excuses that people give for avoiding church (and, yes, avoiding faith by extension or vice versa), this one is common: “Church is too emotional – I’m not interested in all that sensitivity stuff. It’s for women and children.”
Of all the excuses, this one is the most troubling to me, personally. Because it is a red warning flag of a hard-heartedness and a misfire in the full understanding of sacrifice and the specific appreciation for Jesus’ sacrifice. I’m not sure a believer can fully embrace the reality of Jesus’ sacrifice and not become emotional – at some level – and not be convicted toward being sensitive to the problems of the world. I’m not ready to say these individuals aren’t believers, but I am willing to say that these individuals aren’t followers – and often the two are interchangeable and that concerns me for people. I want everyone to know Jesus.

Also, be reminded that Jesus was very emotional and believers are – without question – on a journey to be more Christ-like. Ephesians 4:14-16: “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, (Jesus). From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” We are working to be more like Jesus! And, Jesus was very emotional: Compassion (Matthew 15:32), Love (John 11:3-5), Joy (John 15:9-11), Grief and Sorrow (John 3:5), Anger (John 2:15-16), and Peacefulness (John 16:32-33). And, both Matthew and John were eye-witnesses to Jesus . . . so they knew Him!

It is a dangerous excuse that “I avoid church / faith because it’s too emotional, too sensitive, too touchy-feely.” Behind that excuse can be a faith problem, including lostness. Believing and receiving Jesus’ sacrifice will almost always stir individual emotions in people, and often the reality of that sacrifice is made very real when the gathering of believers occurs in the local church. Because the Holy Spirit dwells inside each believer, there will be a movement to be more like Jesus – and that involves being emotional and sensitive . . . and sacrificial . . . as we move through life.