“Common sense must become commonplace before miracles do.” Pastor Eric once made this remark while preaching to the Korean congregation. He was referencing a famous sermon entitled “The Church Where Miracles Become Commonplace”. I agree with this – a church should be a place where members expect extraordinary things to happen. But a church should also be a place where ordinary things such as courtesy and common sense are respected. Some Christians, although few in number, seem to consider themselves above these kinds of things. So let me mention a few common sense things which should be respected in our church.
I almost feel foolish saying something that should be so obvious, but if we damage someone else’s car we need to take care of the damage. Last Sunday – Easter – someone broke another car’s tail light while pulling out of a parking space. The driver drove off without even leaving a phone number. Easter Sunday is a time when many people who do not regularly attend Sunday worship services come. The damaged car might belong to one of those people. If so, how would such a person feel about our church and about Christians in general? An incident like this might keep him from coming to church again or becoming a follower of Christ.
Another thing, which again I feel almost foolish mentioning: we should be thankful to those who help us. There are cases where someone who became a follower of Christ through the help of a church member is no longer on speaking terms with that person. There can be many reasons for this. They may feel that their friends still treat them like new Christians even though they have grown spiritually. Or they may feel uncomfortable with them knowing too much about their past. But regardless of the reason, it is not right for them to avoid the one who helped lead them to Christ.
I see similar things happen when a house church multiplies. The relationship between the two shepherds sometimes grows colder. The reason might be that the members of the new house church feel loyal to the old shepherd and the new shepherd takes this as disloyalty to himself. But the new shepherd should be grateful to the one who nurtured and trained him. Christians should value long term friendships.
I would also like to mention that we should ask before borrowing things and return them in their original condition. I can understand when some office supplies disappear, but at our church even big items such as speakers and overhead projectors disappear without explanation. So that we can track where things are, and count on things being ready and available when needed, we need to ask permission before we borrow items and promptly return them to their appropriate place. And those who borrow need to be fully responsible for all these things – getting permission, returning it in the same condition as when borrowed, and putting it back in place – themselves, not passing any of these duties (especially putting it back) to others.
Lastly, we need to be on time for worship services. I won’t belabor the point since it’s one I’ve made repeatedly in the past. But there is no excuse for being late to worship while managing to be on time for work and school.
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