By Lisa S. Tarno

Sadly, I have met too many people who are dissatisfied or uninterested in the Christian church experience. I hear the all too familiar statement that the church is full of hypocrites, to others who have been hurt and scarred by their experience. All I can say is that, unfortunately, I understand. 

I understand because I, too, have been dissatisfied and hurt by people in the church. Yuck! I have experienced spiritual abuse by probably well meaning, but not well Biblically understanding people. There was a time when I almost walked away…completely. I remember thinking, “If this is what being a Christian is all about…I want none of it!” It was a dark time. I saw things and heard things I didn’t want to see or hear. 

Thankfully, I had had enough good experiences growing up to rally me back to the fold. God didn’t let me get too far away and reminded me that my spiritual journey was between Him and me and to keep my focus on Him…not people. Eternity is way more important than disliking the church for whatever reason. More on that later. Suffice it to say, when we focus on flawed people, much like ourselves being flawed, our outlook will be grim. Our flaws may look different than theirs but the truth is we all struggle with imperfection and character flaws. 

A friend of mine told me years ago, the church was more like a hospital for the injured than a collection of well behaved saints. When we have the expectation that the church is a place where people should act nice, have their acts together and exhibit love and then they don’t…confusion ensues. We are “shoulding” where we should not! Most people can be self controlled for the most part, but have you seen a busy church parking lot exodus and people’s true selves emerge? Have you been to a general seating Christian event and seen the claws come out with trying to save a couple of seats? Say it isn’t so, but sometimes IT IS! People, whether professing Christian or not, are flawed!

I say all that to say our focus can skew things. If we are focusing on how people behave, invariably we will be disappointed at times. God reminded me that my focus needs to be on Him! I still need to worship, study, engage with others and serve but ultimately, my relationship with the living God is more important than how people act or treat me. They may even be part of the curriculum of my spiritual education…like learning to live a life of forgiveness…loving the unlovely…choosing to be different than the fake or ugly I see. 

A relationship with God is the gift of the Easter season. The whole story of Jesus and His dying for our sins (flaws and imperfections), paying the price because the wages of sin is death, is the bigger picture here. We don’t have to live in eternal darkness after this life. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we are offered salvation and eternity with Him. (See 1Corinthians 15:3-4, 14) Eternity is a LONG, LONG time! Our present life span of maybe up to 95 years is a blip on the continuum of time. So I will say it again, our eternity is more important than our feelings regarding the church!!

Is the church imperfect? Yes. Do people seem to act hypocritically at times? Yes. Do people get hurt in the church at times? Yes. I agree with those statements. Yet, they are all smoke screens to distract you from the most important decision you can ever make in life and that is to be a Christ believer and follower. Don’t lose focus here…your eternity depends on it!

*Note: Salvation is by Christ ALONE! Whether or not you attend church does not save you. That’s like saying being in the garage makes you a car! The Bible encourages us to not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but to keep meeting to encourage each other. See Hebrews 10:24-25.