Church attendance is often discussed in sermons and in bulletin articles. It is clear that attendance at all of the regularly scheduled services is not all there is to Christianity, and it does not tell the whole story in regard to one’s faithfulness to the Lord. On the other hand, however, we cannot discount what it does say about our allegiance to the Lord and His church.

Recently, someone sent me an e-mail entitled, "Ten Reasons Not To Wash." A minister who was fed up with all of the excuses he had heard over the years supposedly wrote it. Here’s the list of reasons not to wash:

I was forced to as a child.

People who wash are hypocrites—they think they are cleaner than anyone else.

There are so many different kinds of soap; I can’t decide which one is best.

I used to wash, but I got bored and stopped.

I wash only on special occasions, like Christmas and Easter.

None of my friends wash.

I’ll start washing when I get older and dirtier.

I can’t spare the time.

The bathroom is never warm enough in the winter or cool enough in the summer.

People who make soap are only after your money.

We chuckle a little, but the list does illustrate that people will make arguments in regard to one matter that they wouldn’t dream of making in regard to another matter. My own experiences have taught me that people can be very creative when it comes to excuses for not attending church regularly.

Even after the most creative excuse is given, Hebrews 10:25 still reads the same way: "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some..."