I once had a conversation with a Christian woman about contemporary Christian music, of which she stated that she is not fond. During the conversation I asked what musical artists she enjoys, to which she replied with a short list of secular artists. Having expected a list of Christian artists, contemporary or not, because that was the framework of our conversation, I further inquired about what Christian music she does enjoy, and to my surprise she replied that Christian music was for Sunday. Her attitude betrays a system of belief existent within the Church: Sunday-itis.
This plague is spreading throughout the Body of Christ to the point of causing paralysis and has, for the most-part, gone unnoticed by the host, as it presents little sign of itself, although it is severely destructive. I term the disease Sunday-itis because those parts of the Body infected, attempt to place God in a box labeled “Sunday.” Sunday-itis causes some to believe that they can make a weekly appointment with God (typically on Sunday, unless something more important comes-up) for 1-3 hours, depending on denomination, as if God were a barber with whom you could pop-in to see for a quick touch-up.
These same portions of the Body have no place for God in everyday life, not to mention every minute of the day, as our relationship with God is intended to be. They try to live a bifurcated life where they tithe their Sunday mornings to God and live the rest of the week for themselves. What’s worst about this disease is that those infected do not realize it, and appear to believe that their state is the norm, and to live otherwise is a twisting of the faith.
I have purposely omitted the denomination of the lady of whom I wrote about above because I do not want anyone to think that this disease is only prevalent in her denomination, because to some extent it exists in all congregations, and to some extent in each of us.
Part of the cause of Sunday-itis is the selfish nature of the flesh in which we each are wrapped, but it has spread through the Body of Christ because it has been accepted by certain denominations as the de facto standard for Christian life, where the clergy live, eat and breath Christ and on-demand deliver a small dose to the laity. Much of this attitude, it is clear, has been handed-down to modernity through tradition originating in the Roman Catholic church. But the mainline decedents of that denomination are as much to blame for not having provided a cure to the disease over the past 600 years.
If we call ourselves Christians, that means we have died in ourselves, only to be reborn in Christ, and that we have given-up our own lives to live in Him. From the moment of our rebirth, we are to live every moment for Him, and show Him a David-like zealous love (2 Samuel 6:20-21 and 1 Chronicles 16:7-12). We are to dedicate our lives to three endeavors: love God (Matthew 22:37), love each other (Matthew 22:39) and help bring others to a relationship with God through Christ (Mark 16:15).
This is, of course, not to say that we cannot enjoy the gifts of life, family and friends that God has given us, but rather to say that we should celebrate the giver more than the gift.
Sunday-itis
