our addiction to church

I have noticed that people who are "lost" usually resort to some kind of addiction to replace their oneness with God. Now before you assume that lost people are the bad people "out there", let me clarify. A person becomes lost the moment that they disconnect with God. Adam and Eve were lost the moment that they decided to act independently of God. And so it is today. Anytime that we choose to act independently of God, we become lost.

Since we were created for significance and since true significance is found in our connection with God, our disconnect with God sends us on a search to fill the void. If we do not return to our connection with God, other gods beckon us. Those gods quickly turn into addictions that master us.

Upon hearing the word "addiction", most people immediately think of obvious addictions, alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual perversions, and gambling. While these vices certainly are addictions, they are the less dangerous addictions. The most dangerous addictions are those that appear to be good. Most lost people do not engage in the obvious addictions, rather they engage in the good addictions to fill the void; things like hobbies, fitness, and religious activities.

In my observation, the most insidious of all addictions is most prevalent among Christians. It is our addiction to church. When I use the term "church" I am not referring to the Biblical concept of the "ecclesia". What I am referring to is our contemporary paradigm of church - Sunday morning meetings, programs, a building, and the governmental hierarchy that accompanies it. Remember our addictions are a result of our disconnect with God. We fill the void with some other god. The man that turns to alcohol will usually be aware of destructive behavior. However the man who disconnects from God and fills the void with church convinces himself of his goodness.

Our addiction to church not only strengthens our disconnect with God, it causes us to resist the very God we declare we serve. This deception is not new. The Pharisees of Jesus' day were the guardians of good doctrine. They read the scriptures. They lived differently than the general public. They were zealous for their religious tradition. Yet they missed God. Not only did they miss God, they resisted Him to the point breaking their own religious laws in their opposition to Him.

And so it is today - Christian vociferously defend their paradigm of church. If you dare mess with their god, be ready to be attacked. Good people behave in bizarre ways as their addiction is threatened. For a good many years now, I have spent time both "in the world" and "in the church". I can tell you this, the church is more brutal and cruel than the world. (Again I am using the word church in the contemporary manner not in the Biblical manner.) Most people in the world will admit their addictions when the conversations become vulnerable. The problem with our addiction to church is that we assume our godless behavior is godly.

We are destined to continue our addiction to church as long as we continue to disconnect from God. The solution to our addiction to church is the same as overcoming any other addictions. Only as we reconnect with God will we overcome our destructive behaviors.