Guest Opinion: Beware of 'Selfish Faith Syndrome'

If Jesus came only to make us comfortable and "happy", then all we need is to curl up with a self-help book and a bowl of ice cream.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - Do you ever wonder why some people go to church? I talk with friends and acquaintances and, at times, I get the impression that they equate attending church with punching a time clock in the hope that after logging enough hours their ticket to heaven has been paid in full on their own merit. Desiring heaven is natural and good, but some Christians may misperceive it as what God somehow "owes us" because of our attempts to follow his commands and laws.

Such a limited approach to the practice of the Christian faith may reveal a misunderstanding of the Gospel message. It can also foster a desire to serve oneself over serving God. Church attendance can become about what God can do for me. We can end up expecting certain comforts and responses from God, rather than responding to the call to worship Him and desire above all else that His will be done.

As for misunderstanding the reason for attending Church services, let's examine a recent California example. In Los Angeles, a pastor employed a non-traditional and unscriptural means to obtaining higher attendance on Sunday morning at his services. Instead of preaching the truth, which the testimony of the saints has proven to ignite godly passion in the hearts of all people, Rev. Tom Eggebeen decided to open all the doors to the church, including the doggy doors.

We are not talking about blessing pets on the feast of St. francis here. rather, believe it or not, to increase church attendance at Covenant Presbyterian Church Rev. Eggebeen invited dog owners to bring their pets regularly, even going so far as to provide dog beds and treats. Many of his sermons use the love people have for their pets as a starting point in teaching about God's love.

On its face, many people might respond with, "Hey, why is this so bad? The important thing is that people are sitting in the pews and hearing the Word of God!" Of course it is important for people to be in church and hear the Word of God, regardless of their reasons. If a deadbeat drunk stumbled into my church on Sunday morning because he heard Catholics serve real wine, I'd prefer he stay and worship (wine-free, of course). I know the transformational capacity of attending Mass or other church services, but if people are going to be enticed into joining a church community they should not be made victims of false advertising.

The message people hear from a pet-centric church service is not an invitation to repent from sin and follow the ways of the Lord. Instead, the central message becomes "welcome, come see how God can serve you." The propensity to reject the call to sacrifice is a syndrome of a society that is plagued by spiritual selfishness, expecting only to receive from the God who made the ultimate sacrifice of His only Son.

The clergy are called to "comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable," as the saying goes. Unfortunately, some may only hear the first part of that phrase. A good, holy, and righteous life is meant to inspire us to live for more than ourselves and become examples of self-sacrifice, in imitation of the Lord.

The first step into church membership or the reason for attending a church service should be conviction and not comfort. If you suddenly feel called to hear the Word of God because Fido can come along, then reconsider the purpose of your trip. If the conviction of Truth and the reality that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for your sins so that you might have eternal life is not what draws you then the strength derived from His sacrifice may not be there when you face the inevitable times of trial. Additionally, you are unlikely to be ready to die to yourself if comfort is a higher priority than living in Christ.

Living a life of faith is a step that those enticed by bringing their pet to church might miss altogether. If Jesus came only to make us comfortable and "happy", then all we need is to curl up with a self-help book and a bowl of ice cream. But, Christianity is not about a superficial happiness; it's about holiness which leads to the true happiness which comes from a relationship with the Living God found in Jesus Christ. If we're enticed to come to church because our desires will be indulged, then our lives will not point to Christ but end up pointing back to ourselves.

According to the Washington Times, Rev. Eggebeen hopes that these newcomers are "as crazy about God as they are about their four-legged friends." Following that note, Laura Hobgood-Oster, a religion professor at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas asserts that congregations are expressing a national trend which questions who is and isn't included in the traditional family structure. Mrs. Hobgood-Oster said that, "More and more people in mainline Christianity are considering them [pets] to have some kind of soul."

I understand why pets mean a lot to a family. They have the ability to bring people together and inspire joy in ones heart. With that said, only confused people will love God in a comparable way to how they love a kitten. A Christian loves Jesus Christ far more than he or she loves their pet. Additionally, including pets as full members of the family misses the essence of human dignity by a long shot. Though pets have value, they are not people, period.

I maintain that people like Rev. Eggebeen promulgate a false Gospel, missing the real potential of human love to find its fulfillment and redemption in the Love of God manifested in Jesus Christ whose great sacrifice reveals the depth of Love beyond measure. Sadly, the approach he presents to enticing people to attend a church service could an end up using his first contact with people to feed their disordered desire for personal pleasure and self-satisfaction rather than liberate it. I'd hate to be there when those people are first asked to sacrifice something. That could be a confusing moment if up to that point they had been told that Christian love is a one-way street.

While God's love for us is unconditional, we must not forget what he requires of us - to live a genuine, holy life in response. We are called to love God first in order to learn to love others in Him. We are also called to pray, give alms, feed the hungry, care for the sick, visit those in prison, reject sexual impurity, and the list goes on. Holiness comes from living the faith you claim to believe, by cooperating with the grace which the Lord provides. God will love us whether we live the faith or not, but we will not find that unity with Him which is the true source of real happiness unless we learn to live sacrificially.

Seeking personal pleasure before pleasing God can stunt one's growth in the Christian life. But if we first seek to love and serve God, a fruit is borne, the real joy which comes from the Lord. He alone can satisy the hunger of every human heart.

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Billy Atwell contributes to BreakPoint and is a blogger for The Point. From the perspective of a two-time cancer survivor he encourages those afflicted with pain and struggling with faith. He earned a B.S. in political science and a B.A. in philosophy from East Carolina University. You can find his writings at www.billyatwell.blogspot.com.

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