Christianity involves a lifetime of activity. In the local church, it involves working, laboring, and volunteering to do what needs to be done in the church. Members who are active, not just using their God-given talents, as we emphasized in our last blog, but participating in specific work in the local church, are of great value in the body of Christ. To prioritize the local church in your life, by being an active member of that church, is a part of seeking first the kingdom of God.

Too many members do little more than sit on a pew in a church building. I am not trying to be harsh. I know that there are some members, due, particularly, to age or illness, who cannot do as much as they would like or used to do. On the other hand, there are some in the church who are not active and have no real excuse for it. In which category do you fall? Are you an active member of your local church, or, are you inactive and without excuse? There are many reasons why some members of the church remain inactive. Here are a few of them.

• Indifference

Developing an attitude of indifference is one of the most dangerous conditions into which a Chris-tian can drift. While we certainly reject the hysteria of the Pentecostal movement, with their counterfeit manifestations of the Spirit and demonstrations of emotionalism, this does not mean that we need to lay aside emotions altogether because that leads to inactivity.

I am reminded of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. Do you know why Nehemiah undertook the awesome task of rebuilding the wall? It was because he cared (Nehemiah 1:1-4). When he heard the bad news concerning the conditions of Jerusalem, the Bible says that Nehemiah sat down and wept. The bad news was so overwhelming to him that it melted his heart like wax and drove him to his seat. I wonder if we care as much about the church as Nehemiah cared about Jerusalem and the wall that had been destroyed? His concern moved him to get involved, and that is what our concern for the local church does as well. If you are not emotionally attached to and invested in the local church, chances are you will not be a very active member.

• Fear

Fear has always been a problem for the people of God. Even a great Bible character like Timo-thy, a man who rarely has anything bad said about him in scripture, demonstrated a slight case of fear (2 Timothy 1:6-7). We should never let fear stop us. Whether it has to do with serving in the public assemblies, doing personal work, or any area where we can be of help, we need to put fear aside and do what we can in the vineyard of the Lord. Paul is a classic example of one who over-came fear to do great work. When he arrived at Corinth, he was afraid because of the daunting task before him (1 Corinthians 2:3); nevertheless, he did not allow that fear to stop him from preaching the gospel of Christ, and as a result, many souls were won at Corinth. It is alright to be afraid, but we must not allow that emotion to paralyze us, rendering us ineffective in the kingdom of God.

There are other things that stop us from being workers for the Lord, things such as mismanagement of time, mixed priorities, etc. It is easy to become idle when it comes to the work of the Lord. Let us make serving God the top priority in our lives, always seeking first His kingdom.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.