A Place Where They Care

Sam Rayburn was a Democratic politician who served as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives for 17 years, and is regarded by many as the most effective Speaker of the House in American history. Allow me to share with you some of his more memorable statements: “Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good action; try to use ordinary situations.” * “No one has a finer command of language than the person who keeps his mouth shut.” * “You’ll never get mixed up if you simply tell the truth. Then you don’t have to remember what you have said, and you never forget what you said.” When Harry Truman was thrust into the Presidency at the death of FDR, Sam Rayburn gave him some fatherly advice. “From here on out, you’re going to have lots of people around you. They’ll try to put a wall around you and cut you off from any ideas but theirs. They’ll tell you what a great man you are, Harry. But you and I both know you ain’t.” ...As they drove home, the father grumbled about the long sermon; the teenage daughter complained about the dull announcements; the mother gripped about the song leader selecting songs she didn’t know. The 7 year-old son said, “I thought it was pretty good, considering we all got in for a dollar.” When one stumbles out of the church building fuming about the shoddy service, they had better examine them self. The service probably had its weak spots – but surely the whole service wasn’t bad. When you go to worship to receive a blessing, you’re likely to receive it. When you go to worship to be a blessing to others, you’re likely to achieve it. But you’re bound to leave empty if you enter with a critical attitude. You expect the song leader to miss the pitch. You expect a shallow sermon. Neither of those guys is on your “favorite people” list anyway. You decided before they ever started, being truthful about it, you weren’t going to like “the performance.” And that’s part of the problem – you view it as a performance. You came as a spectator, not a participant. You’re to be pitied if you receive nothing. You keep going because you’re duty bound, but you go as a critic, not as a worshipper or an encourager. In that frame of mind there’s no way you can praise God or build up others.


[Romans 12:15] When Sam Rayburn discovered he was quite ill, he announced to the House of Representatives he was going home for medical tests. Some wondered why he didn’t stay in Washington where there were excellent medical facilities. He supplied the answer when he told Congressman Jim Wright, “Bonham, Texas is a place where people know it when you are sick, and where they care when you die.” I like that last statement because it’s true of the church. We live in a world where people often don’t care what happens to others around them. Everyone is too interested in getting what they want to even notice what is going on in the lives of others. But the church is a place where people “rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn.” It’s a place “where people know it when you’re sick, and where they care when you die.” God knew that we needed a place like that – a group of people who share the same commitment to God that we have, a place where we will be loved unconditionally; a place where we can find a shoulder to lean on and arms to comfort us in times of trial. I hope that each and every one of you has a church family that serves that purpose in your life. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:23-25). That day looms for all of us.