Present—And Accounted For

Absenteeism is a major problem in business and education today. Starting in elementary school, teachers keep track of attendance because they know too many absences will hurt their students' grades and might indicate that there are problems at home.

Now a new word is making the rounds in Human Resources offices. Presenteeism describes what happens when employees show up for work but remain mentally and emotionally disengaged. Fearing loss of income or benefits, a worker sits at his desk all day but feels too distracted to concentrate, or spends half the day checking e-mail and working on his own personal projects instead of company business. He's present, but not accounted for. Woody Allen once quipped, "Eighty percent of success is showing up," but it's possible to show up without being engaged and productive.

Presenteeism also describes the student who goes to class even when he's sick because the teacher gives extra credit for perfect attendance. While admiring the pupil's determination, we may question how much a feverish mind can actually learn.

If presenteeism decreases productivity at work and school, it's even more serious when it happens in the church. Obviously, we need to be present with the body of Christ to fulfill our role in it. Regular attendance in the church's assemblies helps to build faith and strengthen relationships. Healthy gatherings of the body provide opportunities for ministry and priceless moments around the Lord's Table. Important things happen when believers come together out of devotion "to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42).

But it's not enough just to show up. "Let us not give up meeting together," the Bible says, but the point isn't just to count the attendance but to make our attendance count. When we come together we should hold "unswervingly to the hope we profess" and "spur one another on toward love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:23-25). Being there physically is important, but we need to "be there" spiritually as well.

In Jeremiah's day the people came to worship at the temple, but their hearts weren't in it. So instead of smiling and handing the worshipers a bulletin, Jeremiah greeted them at the gate with a bold call to reform their ways. He said, "Do not trust in deceptive words and say, 'This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!'" God's house was not merely a place to show up and create the illusion of personal piety. The prophet continued with a strong admonition from the Lord: "If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widower and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place . . ." (Jeremiah 7:1-7).

It's good when we show up for church, but it's better when we're present and accounted for. The Lord wants us to do more than show up and be counted. He wants us to grow up and be fruitful.