The "Utilitarian" Church

During a casual lunch conversation, with a close friend, she mentioned that someone we both knew, had gotten married in the Utilitarian Church.  I had to laugh, as I corrected her, saying, “Oh you mean Unitarian.”  Immediately, God dropped this gem into my cranium.  The dictionary defines the utilitarian as: having regard to utility or usefulness rather than beauty, ornamentation, etc. Many, self-professed Christians, have indeed made the beautiful church, that he created, into something that is merely utilitarian. Sadly, we’ve all run across lots of folks, who “go to church” when there is a need to be met, ie.; pretty wedding pictures, baptism, funeral and perhaps Christmas and Easter, to model new outfits.  The remainder of the time, they stay clear of the building, the ministries and most distressingly, God.  While they occasionally partake in the ceremonies, including communion, their hearts, minds and beliefs are far away from God.  The church holds no more value to them than a microwave oven, and they joke about how they only attend when it suits their purpose. 

A big part of the problem, I think, comes from them confusing religion with relationship. Think about the things you’ve chosen in your life, including cars and microwaves, you usually research them, check prices and make a decision based on your findings, after all this will be a relationship of sorts.  Now consider how you came to be in the church you’re in.  Did you choose to become a Christian, after careful study, prayer, repentance and acceptance, or was religion passed along to you like a used winter coat? Obviously, the God that we personally choose to be in relationship with, rather than religion that is handed to us, will be the one we love, and have a growing passion for.  

Sure, God’s church exists to meet our needs, but not strictly in utilitarian fashion. Consider the earliest accounts of the church in Acts: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47.  Physical, material, emotional and spiritual needs were met, as they devoted themselves to the church with glad and sincere hearts.  Is this how you feel when you “go to church”?  Today, my prayer, for all of you who are currently attending the Utilitarian church, is that God reveal his true, beautiful, passion-filled  creation to you!