I read a quote the other day that came as part of one of those forwarded messages of which I am not very fond.   But, I thought it was simple yet quite powerful and wanted to pass it on to you.  It reads as follows: “Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.”

The garage was built to hold a car, yet I think I have only seen one garage that actually had room in it for a car.   Many garages are filled with “the stuff” in our lives that do not really fit anywhere, but for whatever reason, we do not want to throw “the stuff” away.   If the garage is not used as a storage facility, some time, very soon after construction, it is converted into an extra room for the family.   So, as you can see, it is rarely used for its intended purpose.

Can we in fact say the same about our churches?   Have our churches become simply buildings?   While some are quite aesthetically pleasing in architecture and style, others are hugely grotesque and gaudy structures plunked in the middle of a parking lot.

But whatever the style or structure you would be sure to find one to fit your liking.   One thing we are not short of in this country is churches and bars/liquor stores. In fact in some areas you may very well find one church for every liquor store.   This is definitely true in the historic village of Fox Hill on the island of New Providence.

So while in this country you will find hundreds, if not thousands of people pontificating about how much of a “Christian nation” we are; you will find many who do in fact walk into hallowed aisles at least once a week hoping to be cleansed of all sins committed, or at least be atoned for one or two really heavy sins.

Inside these churches you would find people singing and nodding in agreement to the profound messages pouring forth from the lips of the anointed ministers of the gospel.   People may even greet their neighbours in delight, a delight no less brought on by the “holy spirit.”   And of course “praise the Lord” or some other acceptable phrase will echo from pew to pew as the congregation loses itself in the energy flowing from the pulpit.

While this may not be applicable to all church goers or believers in the triune God, one must stop to think about the number of angry, depressed, violent people we have living in our midst who wipe their feet ever so carefully before entering a church on any given Sunday, and leave perhaps the same way they entered.

            As you continue in your journey to self-actualization you must stop and take note of what you are doing and why you are doing it.   It doesn’t make sense to just go through the motions of life because it is what we think people want from us.

            Do not waste precious time saying and doing something to please your spouse, parents or friends.   Being a pretender, a faker is such a sad waste of time because in the end the only one you faked was yourself, so the joke is on you.

            You can sit at your desk everyday and fake your way through the day.   You can sit at your desk in the classroom and fake your way through each lesson.   You can even sit in the pew at church and fake your way through the service.   While you may be able to even fake your way through performance reviews and final exams, you cannot fake your way through death and what may follow.

            This week I challenge you to not just be a body in some space.   Rather, take the opportunity to put your whole mind, body and spirit into each thought, word uttered and action taken.   Do not waste time trying to fool someone by taking short cuts and then finding excuses for shoddy results.

            Recognize that you can only get out of life what you put into it.   Similarly a church is just a building that provides space for people to meet.   Now what you decide to do once you leave that space will make you a better person, some may even call you a Christian.