THE TRENTON BULLETIN

THE TRENTON BULLETIN

Trenton Church of Christ, Trenton, Florida

That looks like a hard word, right? It's what we might call “a big word,” right? Well, look at it again. It is just two little words and a suffix. It is ‘put off’, and ‘it is’ The Greek suffix ‘itis’ is common vernacular in this age, especially when it relates to disease. Actually, the meaning of it is “disease of.” So we speak of tendon-itis, which is an inflation of a tendon, or eye-ritis, which is a disease associated with the eye.

There is a common disease among Christians which I have chosen to call Putoffitis. It is the tendency to put things off, to wait until later, to procrastinate. The things involved are ofttimes things that are important and need immediate, sometimes urgent attention. Like lots of ‘itises,’ it's something all of us suffer from time to time. Like many health problems, one of the best ways to combat this subtle but very pervasive disease is to be aware of its symptoms and catch it early.

Poor concern for important things. If we are not careful the insignificant, the irrelevant, the unimportant will slide in and take control of our thinking. The number of admonitions in the New Testament concerning this proclivity should serve to emphasize the constant need to be aware of its possibility. Paul said, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above...set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1). And “think on these things,” he said, “...true things, honorable things, just things, pure things, lovely things, and things of good report” (Philippians 4:8). In a stern warning, he also said that “...to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). Most putting off is done because we prefer to think about the wrong things.

Slow attention to opportunities. Favorable circumstances don't often repeat themselves; after they come, they are apt to disappear never to come around again. Further, opportunities don't hold their value very long. To put off grasping the occasion will often result in that occasion softening or not being as suitable as it once was. James says, “to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, it is sin” (James 4:17). One of the biggest excuses for losing opportunities is “I intended to.” Intentions are often lost in Putoffitis.

Selfishness. I tried to think of several ways to say that and it just came out selfishness. Most procrastination is based on a selfish choice regarding the use of our time. Oh, we believe in God and we acknowledge Christ as Lord, we just don't have time do what needs to be done--at least not right now. Do you know anyone who doesn't intend to get right with God eventually?

This kind of selfishness caused the demise of the rich man (Luke 16). And James warns, “Go to now, ye that say tomorrow we will go into such a city...” for, says he, “...ye know not what shall be on the morrow” (James 4:13,14). We suffer from Putoffitis when we put off things. What if there is no tomorrow? What then?

Develop the habit of beginning today. There is no command of God on which you cannot begin today--right now, in fact. Name one. There is no reason for delay. Let us “...exhort one another daily, while it is called today...” (Hebrews 3:13). It's late, folks. We best be about doing what we can while we can.

Don't listen to the Devil. The Devil is the fomenter of Putoffitis, he is its chief mentor, its strongest advocate. He's so sneaky! You see, he doesn't really care how strongly you believe, or how much you love God, or how firmly attached you are to the word of God. If he can just get you to put off doing anything about those things, he can accomplish the same ends he would have had he caused you not to believe. Just be ready (Ephesians 6:11) when he comes around.

Keep your eyes on the goal. When you can see a possible victory, you don't stop and gaze around about it, you press toward it. Discouragement, on the other hand, will cause the goal to be hazy, far away, distorted; and that will cause you to lose interest and veer off the path. Paul said, “I press toward the mark...” (Philippians 3:14). Pressing is hard; but the goal is worth it. Keeping your head up when things are hard is not easy; but the reward for having done it makes it worth it.

Stay around those who are doing something. If you hang out with folks that suffer from Putoffitis, chances are you will suffer from the same malady (I Corinthians 15:33). But if you hang around with enthusiasm, you'll be enthusiastic. If you associate with fervor, your heart will burn too. If you run alongside motivation, you can't help but want to finish too. It's just a good thing to be with those who are doing things and be separated from those who are not.

This world offers an abundance of activities in which to involve ourselves. Some of us enjoy various kinds of sports and sometimes participate either in recreational leagues or compete in school: sports such as baseball, racquetball, tennis, soccer, football, volleyball, golf, or softball. We all have an assortment of hobbies and interests that we make time for in our schedules, such as sewing, scrap booking, woodworking, fishing, bird watching, reading, gardening, painting, video games, or playing music. Some teenagers even view sleeping as a hobby.

Whenever something is especially enjoyable to us, we make time to engage in those pursuits, even postponing other things that need to be done because these interests are more captivating and more fun. However, there are many Christians who will make time for fulfilling their own desires of pleasurable activities but will make excuses when it’s time to attend the Bible classes and worship services. Or maybe they will commit to working during these times instead of attending the services. After all, it’s work and work is important. Supporting ourselves and our family is commanded by God, is it not? The point is that often times Christians find something else to do that is more important to them at the time than assembling with the saints. But what could be more important than assembling with the saints?

Granted, there are times in which unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances keep us from attending the services. But when we make a conscious decision to do something else rather than be at services, then that may betray a need for an adjustment in our priorities. God’s design for the local church includes regularly meeting together, and he had very good reasons for this plan. If we let other things get in the way of attending the services, we miss out on so much that God has planned for us to experience as a local body and as a family. There are many reasons to attend, but I want to offer two for your consideration.

Attending services helps us stay on the straight and narrow path. Just like a misaligned vehicle will pull either to the left or the right instead of going straight, when we have our priorities misaligned, we find ourselves straying to the left or the right instead of staying on the path that leads to righteousness. We miss out on the instruction we receive from the Bible classes and the preaching. We miss out on the discussion of God’s will for us and the insights into his word that others can supply. We miss out on the admonishments contained within the psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs that we sing. We miss out on the prayers that help us stay focused on our relationship to God. We miss out on the Lord’s Supper that reminds us of the precious blood that was shed to cleanse our souls of our sins.

These blessings that we enjoy when we are at services help us in our daily fight against the pull of the world. We can take the instruction, the admonishments, the prayers, and the reminders and use them to stay strong each week as temptations come upon us. But we don’t have that advantage if we’re not at services.

Attending services helps us keep our faith strong. When Elijah was running for his life from Ahab and Jezebel, he hid in a cave and was very depressed because of Israel’s condition and unfaithfulness. He said to God, “I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” However, God’s answer to him was, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:10, 18). Elijah felt all alone, that there was no one else who wanted to serve God.

Those Israelites faithful to Jehovah in Elijah’s day were certainly in the minority, just as Christians are in the minority today. But we don’t have to feel the despair that Elijah felt, for we know we are not alone. We have an abundance of brethren who are trying to please God and remain faithful to him. That should bolster our confidence and faith and encourage us to continue pressing toward the goal. If we choose to do something other than attend services, we are chipping away at our own fortress of faith. We’re weakening the walls of defense that can be made stronger through our attendance and fellowship with our fellow warriors. That leaves us open to the attacks the world will no doubt assail upon us relentlessly.

God knew that we needed each other, that we can’t make it on our own. Therefore, He designed the local church to be a source of encouragement to us, to help make us stalwarts in the faith. By drawing upon the faith of our brethren, our own faith grows. By leaning upon them when we are weak, we become strong.

Why let inconsequential matters come between us and attending the services? We have everything to gain by attending and everything to lose by not attending. In Matthew 6, Jesus explained the importance of having a priority alignment. He said we can’t let the things of this world get in our way, and we can’t let the worry of providing for ourselves get in the way. Rather, we need to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). Part of that seeking includes attending services and assembling with the saints.

The book of Psalms is a powerful testimony to the majesty, praise, glory and awesome power of Jehovah God. Isaiah wrote the words of the Lord, "To whom would you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me, that we would be alike … Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me” (Isaiah 46:5,9). How majestic is the name of the Lord and holy. The Lord instructed the children of Israel not to take His name in vain as He prescribed the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).

The name of God is “Jealous” (Exodus 34:14) because the Lord God is a jealous God. To be jealous is to be “intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness; hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage” (Webster). The Lord is intolerant of those who would seek to put other gods before Him or take His name in vain. No one can be equal with Jehovah God!

An unnamed psalmist penned the words of Psalm 111 to declare the power of the Lord in creation. Seen clearly in the psalm is the overshadowing power of the providential care and grace of the Lord to the faithful. All men must stand in awe of the Creator of this world to declare the name of Jehovah God as the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). How great is our God and yet how small is man. In verse nine of the text the psalmist declares the name of the Lord is “Holy and reverend (awesome)”.

The holiness of the Lord is unquestionable. Peter exhorted the early disciples to be holy because God was holy (1 Peter 1:16). The name of God is “reverend” because it is a name to be feared and worshipped. The Lord is worthy of reverence because of His greatness, His grace, His sacrifice and His love. What man among men can take the name “reverend” to be feared, worshipped or adored?

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) wrote in The Treasury of David: “The whole name or character of God is worthy of profoundest awe, for it is perfect and complete, whole or holy. It ought not to be spoken without solemn thought, and never heard without profound homage. His name is to be trembled at; it is something terrible; even those who know him best rejoice with trembling before him. How good men can endure to be called ‘reverend’ we know not. Being unable to discover any reason why our fellow-men should reverence us, we half suspect that in other men there is not very much which can entitle them to be called reverend, very reverend, right reverend, and so on. It may seem a [small] matter, but for that very reason we would urge that the foolish custom should be allowed to fall into disuse.”

Spurgeon suggest that this is a small matter but God considers it a matter of greater importance. Asaph wrote in Psalm 50:21, "These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.” The triviality of man’s respect for the name of God will not go unnoticed by the Creator. “Holy and awesome is HIS NAME” (Psalm 111:9).