There are people talking, playing, and walking around during worship. Am I being too critical to say this is wrong?
Question:
When I go into the Lord's house my main focus is worship. I get disturbed when I see people talking, playing and walking around during service. I feel that they are not there to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth when they are doing other things not pertaining to the Lord's service, they just don't realize how serious it is to worship in spirit and in truth. Am I too critical?
Answer:
When small children are present, there are bound to be some disruptions as parents attempt to train their children to sit still and quiet. Small children will blurt out at times. They need to use the toilet at inconvenient times. But that is life with small children. I would rather have a few disruptions than be in a church that has no little ones underfoot. Such churches are the ones which are dying.
But what sometimes happens is that parents don't put effort into training their children. They are allowed to run as they please and disturb the worship of others. There the problem lies with the parents in not properly raising their children to respect God and others (Proverbs 22:6). As a result, when these children get older, they have no interest in serving God because they are used to doing as they please.
Worse is when older people, who should know better, talk during services and do things that disrupt the worship service. These things are direct violations of the rules laid down for worship. "Let all things be done decently and in order" (I Corinthians 14:40) is the summary of what Paul laid out for Christians in I Corinthians 14. In particular, he chastised Christians for speaking out of turn. While prophecy has ended, we still teach from the prophets. "Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged" (I Corinthians 14:29-31). Thus, when one person is teaching the rest is to be respectful and silent. When he is done, another can take a turn at teaching the brethren. People should not be having private meetings during a public assembly.
