By David Faust
My high school English teacher wanted her students to read Shakespeare and novels by Thomas Wolfe. Back then, though, I mainly read the sports page and the comics in the daily newspaper. On the basketball court I shot 100 free throws every day and carefully tracked the percentage of shots I made, but would I spend even five minutes reading a dusty old book? No way! The teacher gave a surprise test on Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and I received a grade of 40 because my attention had been focused on other things.
Priorities matter. Neglect your car, and it will break down. Fall behind on your bills, and financial problems result. Ignore your body, and your health will decline. Neglect basic maintenance on your house, and it will lose value. Society pays a heavy price when parents neglect their children.
Jesus warned about the folly of neglecting “the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23). Do we pay attention to the things that matter most?
Don’t Neglect Your Salvation
What could be more important than God’s gift of salvation—to be forgiven, rescued from Hell, and unafraid to die? The Hebrews writer asked, “How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?” and declared, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1-3).
“Drift away” is an accurate description of what happens when God is neglected. Most backslidden believers don’t suddenly wake up one day and reject Christ. Usually, disengagement is a gradual process—a slow drift from the Lord and his church.
The river’s current will pull your boat downstream unless you keep rowing. Likewise, it takes intentional steps to stay connected with other believers so we don’t drift away.
Don’t Neglect God’s House
To renew their commitment to God, the Jews prayed, confessed their sin, and signed an agreement pledging their faithfulness. Governor Nehemiah was the first person to sign (Nehemiah 10:1). They promised to observe the Sabbath, support the temple, and avoid intermarriage with idolatrous nations. They summarized their commitment with a solemn promise: “We will not neglect the house of our God” (Nehemiah 10:39).
In the New Testament, God’s house doesn’t mean a physical structure. It’s the church—God’s redeemed sons and daughters in whom his Spirit dwells. Sitting in a church building doesn’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a chicken house makes you a chicken. Faithfulness to God is not mainly about attending worship services . . . but that’s not a bad place to start!
God’s household should be a priority. If you own a car or a house, you tend to be more careful with the property than you would be if you were merely renting it. Likewise, we shouldn’t treat the church as if we’re consumers or renters. Members of God’s family should “buy in” and be fully engaged.
If God’s kingdom is your top priority (Matthew 6:33), don’t neglect to connect! Show up for worship because you love the Lord your God. Get involved in service. Support the family of believers and love your neighbors well. Give generously to spread the gospel.
The promise of Nehemiah and his contemporaries should be ours as well: “We will not neglect the house of our God.”
Personal Challenge: Are you ever tempted to neglect the Lord and the family of believers? How does your investment of time, money, and effort demonstrate that God’s kingdom and his righteousness truly come first in your life?
Author: David Faust
David Faust serves as contributing editor of Christian Standard and senior associate minister with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of Not Too Old: Turning Your Later Years into Greater Years.
