CHURCH SAFETY
Houston Bynum

In an article entitled, "How to Stay Safe in the World Today," I came across the following statistics of places to avoid:

Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20% of all fatal accidents.
Do not stay home because 17% of all accidents occur in the home.
Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians.
Avoid traveling by air, rail, or water because 16% of all accidents involve these forms of transportation.
Of the remaining 33%, 32% of all deaths occur in hospitals. Above all else, avoid hospitals.

You will be pleased to learn that only .001% of all deaths occur in the worship services of the church, and these are usually related to previous physical disorders. Therefore, logic tells us that the safest place for you to be at any given point in time is in the worship services of the church! Attending Bible study is safe, too. The percentage of deaths during Bible study is even less!

While this short article with its statistics presents a "rationale" for attending church services based on "safety," there are more important considerations:

We show our love for God by keeping His commandments (John 14:15); God commands us not to forsake (abandon) our assemblies (Hebrews 10:24-25); we should set a good example (1 Timothy 4:12); we show our faith by our works (James 2:18); we should be ready to every good work in the kingdom (Titus 2:14); we should avail ourselves of every opportunity for spiritual growth and edification (2 Peter 3:18); we should use every opportunity to show our love and gratitude to God (2 Corinthians 9:15).

The writer of Hebrews exhorts, " And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:24-25, NKJV).
Concerning corporate worship, David rejoiced and said, "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord'" (Psalm 122:1).

Jesus has always attended every service of His church: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20). We should want to be where He is, here on earth, and ultimately to be with Him in heaven. Faithful attendance of church services is certainly "safe" behavior-with results both here now and hereafter.