I was once (and ever so briefly) part of a ministry that did some work in California. Years ago, a team of volunteers (myself included) travelled out West together in a great big, 72-passenger school bus, with only one of us in the entire group who was legally qualified to drive it. His name was “Wayne” and Wayne had a Commercial Driver’s License, so Wayne became our chauffeur by default. The trip was over 30 hours on the return, and Wayne drove the whole way, by himself, non-stop, without sleeping. Needless to say, we needed Wayne.
This was risky business. Falling asleep at the wheel, at any point along the way, would have been bad for not only Wayne, but for each passenger stuck in the bus with him…and everybody knew it. That’s why we all took turns up front, sitting on an upside-down pail, right next to Wayne as he drove. All through the night someone was there talking to him, listening to him, watching, sometimes praying. We did whatever we had to do to keep him awake so he could keep on driving. My shift was in the wee hours of the morning, and it was challenging in more ways than one. Not only was there the loss of sleep to cope with, but I also knew that if Wayne crashed the bus, it would be partly my fault. Lives were on the line, so Wayne and I worked together that night. It would be fair to say that Wayne probably did as much to keep me awake as I did for him, but we both made it through the night unharmed.
Not every trip, however, ends as well as ours did. In Polk County, MN on May 7th of this year, a bus driver fell asleep at the wheel, lost control of his vehicle, and injured a dozen students. Or a couple of months before that in Washington County, TN when a bus driver dozed off, crashed into a tree, and sent 5 students to the hospital. Needless to say, people can get hurt when someone thinks they can drive all the way from “point-A” to “point-B” without any help, especially when they get tired & fall asleep at the wheel somewhere in between. Stories like that aren’t hard to come by if you have access to Google.
…or a church.
We’ve seen lots of folks come into our fellowship over the years who started out with a fair amount of enthusiasm. It lasted for a while, but as the miles ticked by, their interest faded, and lethargy set in. The drive got monotonous and they slipped into what you might call “highway hypnosis”, where they were still going forward, but no longer conscious of it. Even now, I’ll bet it’s happening to some people. They’re getting drowsy. They’re going right along with the traffic flow of church-life like they always do, but they aren’t really paying attention anymore. They’ve been on the road long enough to “settle in”, and a quick nap doesn’t seem as dangerous as it used to. They’ve surrendered themselves to a certain dose of non-lethal sin that’s produced nothing but spiritual drowsiness. The diminishment of their Christian joy & zeal is one of the most obvious side-effects. They’re no longer impressed by deeply significant matters. They’re drifting off to sleep…
…And somebody needs to wake them up!
You have a responsibility toward everybody else in the fellowship that you may be overlooking. You’re supposed to be paying attention to those around you within the community of believers, talking to them, listening to them, watching them to see if their eyes are still on the road like they should be, and to warn them when they start nodding off. The Lord has told us to do this for one another, and refusing to do so is sin. If they crash the bus, it might be your fault:
“Be careful dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil & unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ” Hebrews 3:12-14
Are you taking your responsibility seriously? What do you do when you see somebody growing cold in their worship? Do you talk to them about it, or are you afraid of bothering them? It’s important to remember that, at this point, we’re all still riding in the same vehicle. Be aware that your own survival, in part, depends on whether you keep the people around you alert to the dangers they face. If you neglect them, they’re liable to turn away from Christ, and if they do, who’s going to keep you from falling asleep like they did? If they drive off the road and crash into a ball of flames, what makes you think that you won’t get hurt yourself? The spiritual lethargy of your fellow passengers should be making you uneasy & anxious. If it doesn’t trouble you, maybe it’s because you’re the one dozing off.
A pilgrimage like ours is a dangerous trek, and none of us are meant to walk alone. Accountability is the golden thread that God has woven into the cloth of Christian fellowship, and when that thread gets pulled out, the entire fabric of a man’s life starts to unravel. We need each other. Some drivers don’t like to admit it, but it’s true of us all:
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).
When our ministry team left California that summer, we all trusted Wayne to help us get home safely, and Wayne trusted us to do the same for him. We needed Wayne, but Wayne also needed us. As good a driver as he was, Wayne couldn’t have made it home without our support. Somewhere along the way he’d have fallen asleep and we’d all have been sorry. But unlike some trips, our journey had a happy ending. We made it home safe. All of us. Together.
We all want to get home safe, don’t we? Well then, let’s help each other stay awake.