Absence is a Symptom

Fever is a symptom of a disorder somewhere in the body. The primary problem may be a hidden infection that would not otherwise be noticeable until it is in an advanced stage. High body temperature tells us something is wrong in the body, somewhere. It tells us a reliable cure needs to be found and applied.

Unnecessary absence from worship and Bible study is a fever-like symptom. Mere absence, however, is not the only factor for diagnosing spiritual illness. There are times when it may be necessary to be absent from worship and Bible study. On the other hand, habitual absence is a spiritual malady that needs to be cured.

As a fever may possess a man who does not know what causes it, even so a Christian can neglect worship without being aware of the problems that cause one to do so. We can easily camouflage our lack of concern for worship by involving ourselves in personal interests. This is easy to do when other interests seem to be more important than they really are. Select wisely the things that are important in life (Mt. 6:33)..

We should recognize the difference in one who would rather attend worship but can’t and those who attend but had just as soon be elsewhere. My mere presence in a meeting house every time the doors open should not be taken as a sign of “good spiritual health.” Attending just to have a good record of attendance, without a positive desire to please the Lord and learn how to serve him better, is worthless.

Deliberately missing a worship service or Bible study is always spiritually significant. It is significant because it reveals the presence of a wound, an infection, a depression, or some other spiritual disorder. The fact that a person “feels well” about their spiritual life is no guarantee of sound spiritual health.

We need be more interested in causes than symptoms. We cannot avoid the implications of continued absence from worship services. This would be like a parent ignoring a high fever in a child. The fever is a symptom; the cause may take the child’s life if the fever is ignored. Deliberate absence from worship and Bible study may take a spiritual life if it is ignored. — Borrowed, author unknown

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