The True Cost of the New Steeple

I was at a Wednesday night church business meeting when the issue of the nursing home came up. For several months the church bus had been picking up several elderly women who lived at the local facility, so they could go to Sunday morning worship. It turned out that several members of the church felt this was a poor use of Jesus' money.

"Those women are so demented that they don't know what's going on anyway," said one deacon, who stood to address the congregation. "It's a burden on us, spending the gas money to pick them up. Besides, what if one of them got sick or had an accident while riding? We might get sued!"

With no more discussion a vote was called. The motion to abandon the ladies at the nursing home passed. There would be no more spiritual sustenance or fellowship for them, no chance to wear their nice dresses or sing hymns or hear words of comfort in their final years of life. They would no longer be able to escape that morbid, death-filled atmosphere for an hour a week. There was no money in the budget to cover the fifty cents in fuel it took to pick them up.

Then the next matter of business was brought up: the proposal to add a new steeple to the building. Estimated cost: $25,000.00. This motion passed as well.

If you're ever in northern GA and drive past a nice white church with a fine-looking steeple on top, think of the cost some people paid for it.

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. - James 1:27. Apparently these good Christians forgot to read this verse in their Bibles.