There are a number of religions in the world: Christianity, Islam, African Traditional Religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, etc. Again, each religion has it’s own place of worship: Shrines, Mosques, Temples, Churches, etc.
What I admire about these religions has to do with the sense of reverence they give to their places of worship. For instance, have you ever seen a Muslim whatsapping or facebooking while prayer is ongoing? The Muslim already knows the consequences of his or her acts. It is haram (حَرَام).
Again, what about traditionalists talking unnecessarily during an encounter at the Shrine? It can never happen. The Traditionalist is aware that the gods will strike him or her dead.
Let us come to our own Churches. The question is, what is becoming of our churches today?
• A place of conversing unnecessarily?
• A place of making & receiving phone calls?
• An extension of canteen or dining hall?
• Do we even realise the presence of God in our Churches?
• A place of littering?
• A place of chewing gum & then leaving it on the pew?
• Whatsapping, facebooking, gaming centres, etc?
• A place of gossip: what a person is wearing (shoe, dress, hair style, etc)?
In the response to the Psalm, the pslamist says: “HOW LOVELY IS YOUR DWELLING PLACE, O LORD OF HOSTS.”
The word “lovely” has the meaning of “charming, beautiful, pleasant, wonderful, nice, etc.”
The dwelling place of God is understood as the Church or the Temple.
With the above, the psalmist is simply saying that the Church (Temple) is charming, beautiful, pleasant, wonderful, nice, etc. This was about 2000 years ago. If this same psalmist should visit our modern Churches, will he be able to identify the lovely nature of the dwelling place of the Lord?
HOW MAINTAIN THE LOVELY NATURE OF THE CHURCH?
• The Church is a place of prayer.
• If cleanliness is next to Godliness is true, then sanity in Churches must be held.
• Absolute respect must be given to God.
• Distinction must be made between a sacred space (Church) & an ordinary environment.
• If Christians want the world to give value to their Churches, it should already begin with them.
• The beauty of the Church is not just about elegance, but the quality of hearts.
• If you want to browse, do so at home or outside & not in the Church.
• We need to set good examples concerning our attitude to Churches so that future generations can learn from us.
• Let us stop the practice of always being outside chatting unnecessarily while service is in session.
• Let us avoid gossip even in Church: what a person is wearing (shoe, dress, hair style, etc), etc.
• The need to avoid lateness to Church.
C—care for the Church
H—have time for prayer
U—unload your crisis to Jesus.
R—right now, just pray for your Church.
C—come to Church frequently.
H—have a quiet time in Church.
It is well….
Source: Rev. Fr. Elvis Mensah
