Does God go to Church?

Church. What image immediately comes to your mind? Probably something like a cathedral or a building with a steeple or priests and altars. For some maybe a singing worship songs and hearing a sermon is what comes into mind. Does that sound exciting? For many that is true but probably for many more--not so much. If we aren't that excited about church, did you ever think that God might not be that excited either? That sounds weird. I mean God and church go together like PB & J. Right? For what possible reason would God not go to church? I think this is the right question. But far too often we ask, "For what possible reason do I have to go to church?" And sadly, the church itself has chosen to answer the latter instead of the former. This kind of thinking is endemic in the American church.

So why would God not want to show up at church? Well, believe it or not there have been times on record when this has occurred. Back in the Old Testament times the nation of Israel, who were supposed to be God's people, had forsaken their God to go after other gods. However, they still went to church. They still gathered every Sabbath and paid God lip service. Their leaders did not obey God's commands for worship. So God refused their sacrifices:

" 'Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and I will accept no offering from your hands.'" Malachi 1:10


Wow. God would rather the doors of the church be closed than for people to come and only pay lip service to Him. In another instance God says this:

"My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice."

Ezekiel 33:31-32

So what is God saying? Are there times when God will not go to church? Absolutely. I think we forget that God is a person--the greatest person. Everything we admire in others is only a shadow of the person of God. He is the most admirable, most kind, most caring, most honorable, most truthful, most just, most infinitely loving person to ever exist. And as such, He desires that we as his creatures, reflect who He is. And when we make church about us, we not only do a disservice to the honor and glory of God, but also a disservice to our own happiness. When we make church about what songs we like to sing and sermons we like to hear, then boredom is the best possible outcome and hypocrisy and idolatry at worst. If church is boring, then perhaps it is because the God of our own choosing is just that. Let's worship the True God, whom boredom can never be attributed.