I took this photo while on my road trip in 2009. The solitude of roads like this one was incredible to experience. You can read all about the road trip under the “blog series” heading.
I’m sharing this picture and mentioning my road trip to make a point: I think heading out on one’s bike, whether alone or with others is an amazing thing to do. Very few things match such an experience. I’m not anti-road trips or anything like that. I think most people who know me get that.
Having said that, there’s a quote I often see people tweet or put in their Facebook status that bugs me. I’ve seen it in many variations, but they all say something like this:
I would rather be on my bike thinking about God than sitting in church thinking about my bike.
It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? People retweet it or click “like”. To some, it even sounds spiritual. After all, wouldn’t God rather me on my bike thinking about him than sitting in church not thinking about him?
I have to be honest, the quote bugs me. I don’t like it. On my really grumpy days, I think the quote contradicts the Bible. On my nicer days, I just think it misses the point.
You see, I think there are more options that what the quote is offering. I also think there is an underlying dangerous statement being made in such a quote.
Do you notice how individualistic it is? It’s all about me. What’s it really saying? If I go to church today, all I’ll be doing is thinking about my bike. So, God would rather me head out on my bike and think about him. That would be more pleasing to him, and more enjoyable to me.
But would it? If, when we go to church, all we do is think about our bike, are we not guilty of making our bike into an idol? If we are unable to turn our attention to worshipping God at church because our mind is focused on our motorcycle, are we not placing it above our value of God? I think that’s a dangerous place to be.
And what about going to church and thinking about the people around us? What if we went to church and rather than dwell on our motorcycle, we focused on how we can honour God through serving others? What if our thoughts stopped revolving around ourselves when we showed up at church?
I guess I just think there are far too many other options that should be included in this quote. You see, I love thinking about God when I’m on my bike. But I also love to think about God when I come to church. I love to dwell on the goodness of God in all kinds of different places. I think it’s sad if the only options you have are to think about God on your bike or think about your bike in church.
What do you think? Am I just grumpy or do I make any sense?
