Dear Cousin Polly;
Why is the Pastor always trying to get people to sit up front?
Happy Where I Am in Stubbornville, IA
Dear Happy,
If your church leadership follows the custom of roping off the first rows whenever there is a special event, I am not sure why people are expected to choose those rows on Sunday morning. However, that aside, the polite thing would be to sit up front for the speakers’ sake. Save the back rows for late-comers who wouldn’t want to be in the embarrassing position of interrupting others trying to enjoy the service, and for people with special needs who may need to slip in and out of the service quietly.
Further, the closest spots in the parking lot should be left for the elderly, people with small children or others who may need special consideration but don’t qualify for “special” parking privileges. Had people followed these basic etiquette rules, we wouldn’t have government regulations and the accompanying expense for signage and enforcement imposed upon us.
Good manners and putting others above ourselves should be the hallmark of those professing to follow Jesus.
– Cousin Polly
Sounds like the golden rule to me, applied in real life situations
Hi Cousin Polly,
Not to mix politics with religion (that can explode, I’m sure) but don’t you think that corrupt politics is because of the separation of church and state? I’m from Illinois, but really, it’s the same everywhere.
BTW, when you mention a hallmark, are we talking greeting-card extreme niceness? Just wondering.
Dear Sharon,
Cousin Polly thinks it is important that Christians not try to separate their faith in God from everything or anything else affecting their lives, including and maybe even especially politics. So, yes, Dearie, I agree with you, when Christians abandoned our roles in shaping public policy and opinion, corruption filled the vacuum. Perhaps we will have to answer for that someday, and certainly we are enduring the consequences now.
“Greeting-card extreme niceness?” Cousin Polly consulted her Webster’s dictionary, which defines “Hallmark” as “any mark or special indication of genuineness, good quality, etc.” Cousin Polly stands by her claim that good manners should be the hallmark of God’s people, and believes Cousin Sharon would be happy, too, if Christians would behave this way.
I dunno. My husband likes the pew next to the last but I would prefer sitting further up. Some elderly folks occupy the back pew and they talk so loud it’s a wonder the pastor doesn’t hear them all the way up front! It’s sometimes very distracting.
I remember in the 60’s some pastors were telling their congregations to avoid going into politics and the theatre. Look what happened! Christians are supposed to be “salt and light” but if Christians stay out of media, entertainment and the gov’t we can expect the void to be filled with another god or gods. Perhaps what is happening now in the US and in the world will be a wake-up call. The Greek perspective and way to teach the gospel is that life is segmented ie we have the religious and the secular. However the Hebraic way of teaching is to realize that what we believe is to be lived out in all areas of our lives. “Thou shalt not take the name of the L-rd, thy G-d in vain” means more than cursing or swearing falsely. It means “to carry” and how we carry G-d’s name before the world is of utmost importance. We are to represent Him as accurately and truthfully as possible in our lives, not just in our manner of speaking.
Well said, Grammy Suzanne! i did not think of the distinction between Greek and Hebrew worldviews as having such influence on Christians, but of course you are right. I think this is what is meant when we talk about our “testimony” in the sense of what we do, not what we say. If we get tattoos, is that not a testimony against our Maker – that he didn’t warn us against taking a Mark? If we forbear to sue each other, is that not a testimony that we shall judge angels? And I could think of many other examples of our lives as testimony to our beliefs, I guess.