REGULARITY
To monitor my health status and maintain my body’s optimum well-being, I have a physical checkup every year. Usually, there were some conditions found in the overall exam results; one of those was overweight. The attending physician asked me if I had REGULAR exercise, and I said, “Almost REGULAR.” Then she advised me to have REGULAR exercise if I want to have a desired body weight. The other finding of my physical checkup was IRREGULARITY of my heartbeat. The physician explained that infrequent or IRREGULAR palpitations usually need further evaluation because they can be of concern. Therefore, she urged me to get REGULAR checkups every six months to ensure that I am in good health.
There are more ways of using the word “REGULAR,” one of them is the suit size. My friend wears a 42-REGULAR suit; others wear long, extra-long, or short. Another way of using the word “REGULAR” is when I go to the gas station to fill my car’s gas tank. I chose REGULAR gas. I have always used that kind of gasoline, not only because my car engine runs well with REGULAR gas, but because it is the most inexpensive gas price. The word “REGULAR,” which I want to consider in this editorial, means, “consistency.”REGULARITY, or consistency, is an important aspect of our spiritual lives, and in our relationship with God. Barna’s survey on the “Covid-19 Church Attendance and Engagement” through online services among practicing Christians shows that very few (14%) have made a church switch from their pre-Covid churches. Thirty-two percent (32%) have stopped attending church during the pandemic; in fact, 35 percent (35%) are still and only attending their pre-Covid church. The remaining 18 percent are viewing worship services from multiple churches throughout the month. The data was collected in late April through early May 2020, and so it needs to be noted that the percentages may have shifted in recent months as the pandemic is still in progress (https://www.barna.com/research/new-sunday-morning-part-2/).
At this point, there is no accurate information about the percentage of members attending church service online for our worldwide church, but thank God that most likely more of our church members are attending church services REGULARLY, even more than before. They pray on a REGULAR basis. They send their tithes on a REGULAR basis, and they practice all of the Christian life virtues on a REGULAR basis. Consistency, or REGULARITY, in our worship and relationship with God, is crucial. We should be REGULAR in our church attendance by remembering the Sabbath every week. We should be REGULAR by living and putting into practice the teachings and the example of Jesus daily. We should continue to be REGULAR amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Anything less than being REGULAR, or being IRREGULAR, will not be pleasing to God.
Ellen White wrote in The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 9, 1893, “This matter of giving is not left to impulse. God has given us definite instruction in regard to it. He has specified tithes and offerings as the measure of our obligation. And He desires us to give REGULARLY and systematically. . . . Let each REGULARLY examine his income, which is all a blessing from God, and set apart the tithe as a separate fund, to be sacredly the Lord’s. This fund should not in any case be devoted to any other use; it is to be devoted solely to support the ministry of the gospel. After the tithe is set apart, let gifts and offering be apportioned, ‘as God hath prospered’ you.”
There is a reward for REGULARITY. We can maintain our health by doing REGULAR exercise, taking our prescribed medication REGULARLY, or having a REGULAR physical checkup. In the same manner with our spiritual status, we can maintain our spiritual health by attending the church service REGULARLY, emulating Jesus’ character in our lives on a REGULAR basis, and returning our tithes, and giving our offerings REGULARLY and systematically. Shall we?
Hiskia Missah
Editor
