The real reason why men need to be in church is the same reason why all of us do. Our actions and attitudes about the calling of God to us in the work that we do, and understanding more deeply the glory of a life lived not for yourself, or for this present evil world, but for the honor of the life to come is what makes a Christian man work hard for his family, for his faith, and for his kith and kin. There is something greater than himself in the labors he does every day, if every man lived so boldly, and with such humility, imagine where we would be today?

Being young and invincible in some ways is the best part of life. Understanding that you are not is the first step towards maturity. I grew up in a time when it was common to office banter to hear the local dad joke connoisseur come up to you while you were getting a cup of coffee and say, “Hey Ben, you working hard or are you hardly working?”. There are days where I am glad I do not work in an office. Those days end in “y”. God made me a little bit to be a lone ranger, that has its benefits and has caused me problems in the past. Few things were more annoying as a corporate drone than forced small talk when I just wanted to do what I was there to do and go home. When God ordered Adam to tend to the Garden He did so in the context of Adam’s pure heart and soul, which had not been stained with sin. There was a kind of joy to his labor that became a drudgery after he broke the covenant of works, and all humanity then fell with him.

In today’s prayer and worship help we are going to dovetail into talking more about men and church, but this time from a point of view that wants to help all of us think some more about what the Lord would have us to be and to do in light of His marvelous grace, and the promised eternity which comes through Jesus Christ alone. Seeing the future as more than one’s own lifetime changes how we approach labor and life. It also is meant to remind us that the world is bigger than either ourselves or our earthly existence. Walking by a graveyard every day has the habit of reminding me that the moment is limited and what we do and who we are will largely be forgotten in a few generations. Not to make this more morose than it needs to be, but it’s part of asking the question concerning how we are to approach the time that God gives us, and why what we do in the Lord’s house on the Lord’s Day has more than a weekly benefit.

Getting back to work habits for a second the apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:16 that we are to redeem the time because the days are evil. What he means by that is not that there is something sinful about Mondays. (Monday is my favorite non-Sunday day of the week).

Read More