(I do want to say these pictures in this post are just pictures used as examples of what I talk about not the actual thing)

Every day on my way to work I drive by a church. It is not the church I attend, but I know people who do. There are many good things about this church, but there has been a change that has left me feeling uncomfortable.

This new church recently installed a beautiful new large ornamental bell. This bell is hanging from its own stand alone concrete base. I don’t know if this is something the church decided to build or if money was left by someone to build this bell. I know nothing about it, except for what I see as I drive by.

Each day as I drive by this bell my mind wonders how much it cost to build and how that money could have been used for missions. It makes my heart sad. So many times we spend money on things that have no eternal value (personally and as a church). I am not against churches expanding and building new buildings. What I am against is spending money on items that are there for beautification purposes. I am not claiming to know what this church spends on missions; I just know the appearance that is given. And if this was my personal church, I would be against such an endeavor. Who knows, maybe it was a gift that was given and the church did not have a say on how the money was spent.

(hubby after reading this said he believes it is a bell they already had and they just built a case for it to hang.  Either way this post is not about this particular church but churches in general)

Unfortunately this is not an isolated case among many of our churches. In Revelation John describes various churches. The church of Sardis was a grand church, large in size, the most influential. I am sure the pastor was well liked, people looked good on the outside, and from human eyes it looked like they had all that was  needed to be a great church. Instead God called this church DEAD! I am sure we can imagine in our mind’s eye churches in today’s time that look beautiful, the pastor is well liked, and many people are influenced by this church…..but unfortunately I believe some (not all) churches are considered DEAD to Christ.

Instead as a church body we need to strive to become like the Philadelphia church described by John in Revelation. God considered them the finest church of them all. They had a passion for missions and through their weakness as a church they found their strength in God. I image this church to be a church filled with imperfect people, people who have been broken by God, and have come to total reliance on God. They know as a church body that perfection is only found in Christ not in each other, but they also know that money should be spent wisely towards missions.

I want to be a member of a Philadelphia church (and right now I believe I am), but when I drive by daily and see this bell and I think of my Compassion child Mary and what she struggles with daily, I am left wondering how many kids the money used to build this bell would have been feed.

I mean no judgment on this particular church (only God can do that) I am sharing my thoughts on how churches can sometimes get off track with how their money is spent, many times with items that sound great at the beginning. This can also be applied to our personal finances.

Wherever your treasure lies, there your heart will be. Matt 6:21

also…where your money goes your heart follows.

This post leads up to my post for tomorrow…stay tuned.