What's In It For Me?
A man once asked his neighbor if he believed In God, and his reply was simply, "Why, Yes!" He then asked the man if he would consider going to church with him on Sunday, and the man replied, "Sure! Why not. I could use a free meal." The
man said, "Wait a minute! We don't go to church to eat." His neighbor replied, "Oh? Well, I thought churches were supposed to have dinners for the people." The man replied, "No! We go to church only to worship the Lord!" His neighbor said, "Well, I
guess I can wait until bingo starts, then it wouldn't be so bad." The man gasped, "Bingo?! Friend, we do no such activity! We go to church only to worship the Lord!" His neighbor then replied, "Mister, if I go to your church with you, what's in it for
me?"
It's sad but true. Many people of the world and even some of the members of the Lord's church have this kind of outlook. We obviously need to understand that many of those in the world may not have had
enough, if any, spiritual upbringing. But, when It happens within the spiritual body of Christ, it becomes unbearably sad. Picture this: We, as Christians, are all members of the Lord's body; some are hands, some are feet, and some are even the mouth.
If any one of these members stop functioning with the rest of the body, it would be just like a person who was crippled in the literal sense. A football coach once said, "When a player stops playing with the team, and begins to do what he wants to do,
then he becomes an 'I.' And as everyone knows, there's no 'I' In the word 'team."'
The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:27, "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually." And in Romans 12:4-5, he
said, "For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." Paul is clearly talking about what we might refer to as "team." All of
us have different talents, or abilities, much like the physical body has members that do different things. For instance, you cannot see with your feet; nor can you eat with your nose. Every part of our bodies have a specific function, and we cannot be
whole without them.
When anyone gets to the point of asking, "What's In it for me?," maybe they should remember that "what's in it for them," is everlasting life. Unlike professional sports, when a member of a
team feels that they are not satisfied with "what's in it for themselves," and go play for another team, Christians only have one team! There is nothing else! Of course, we do actually have one other choice; and that's eternal death! Please! Let us all
choose LIFE!
- Aaron Veyon
July, 1997 Volume 3 Issue
3
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