There is a phenenom in some churches – I call them “notchers.” The people who put a notch in their Bible with every tithe paid, every Bible study class, every time they bring cookies to bingo night, every midnight mass, every Sunday they warm a pew, and every time they work God into their conversation.

These people are not evil, nor do they have bad intentions. They are simply looking at their spiritual life from the aspect of “counting coup.” The process reminds me of when I was a little kid and the Priest would hand out penance from the other side of the grill during confession. The little boys would see how fast they could blast through “6 Our Fathers and 4 Hail Marys.” The prayers themselves held no meaning whatsoever – they were just syllables spit out as rapidly as one could move their lips and tongues. Empty. Hollowed out vowels and consonants taking up oxygen in their production.

And I’m relatively sure that God noted them but didn’t “count” them as we’d intended. I can only speak for myself, but it was a quantity versus quality issue and quantity won every time.

Today I want to think that it’s a changed situation in my life. I had to ponder it a few weeks ago when I attended a different church on a Sunday. I couldn’t spare the time to go to my usual church and still get any sleep before taking my wife out to a Chris Tomlin concert that night. I sat in the pew of that other church, one I’ve attended only for funerals in the past, and questioned my own proclivity to “notch.” I truly wanted to worship The Lord that morning, wanted to follow that Biblical imperative to join with others in worship, but felt foiled. I was frustrated because the quiet reflection I’d come in anticipation of finding was shattered by the congregation being led in rapid fire rounds of “Hail Mary…” by a lay leader. It was notching. But was I just making sure I got the notch for Sunday worship?

I get it. I was raised in the Catholic Church and find 96% of the things there comfortable and warm. And I mean no disrespect to my Catholic brethern. But that morning I realized how my own spiritual life had changed and grown. I had good intentions and tried to keep true to my need to worship. I don’t think I was “notching” but then again I’m prejudiced.

I will think hard about “substituting” churches again. I picked my church after careful study and love it even more when I can’t (or won’t) attend due to time constraints. I’m not going to apologize, working nights forces you to make some choices in life. I’m thrilled to be in the house of The Lord anytime I get a chance.

But I have to guard against notching. It no longer completes this little boy.

Do you “notch?” Are “notching” other things in your life – time with your parents, time with your dogs, time with your wife? What will you do to change that today?

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