Feed a Starving Child or Buy a Pew Cushion?

In these tough economic times I can't help but think about the billions of dollars that have been spent to construct churches, as well as purchase the items housed inside.

When the authors of the Bible said that you should give 10% of your money to the church, do you think they understood a good portion of that money would be used to make sure the surface on which worshippers sat was soft and cushy?

When you proudly add the envelope containing your check to the collection plate as you subtly count those taking notice, do you ever think of what that money will be used to buy? It will be used pay the maid, the landscape company which mows the lawn, signage outside the church warning passersby that they will burn in hell should they not come to believe exactly as you believe, etc.

Churches are just like cars; they're nothing but unnecessary status symbols to show off the number of dollars you've been able to accumulate. You could get from point A to point B in a modest Ford Focus, but it wouldn't show the world that you just made partner. Congregations could worship together in the park, but it wouldn't show the world that the preacher has above average fundraising skills.

Sure, I'm a devout atheist, but I don't begrudge most people who gather together to worship. It makes them happy and the majority of the non-fanatical ones aren't hurting a soul.

But instead of worshipping in glorious shrines that cost a fortune, why not use the money to feed the, "least of your brothers."

The actions of those who profess to know God best always befuddle me. You say He doesn't care about earthly possessions, yet you fill the very house in which you praise Him with the finest luxuries money can buy. Maybe not the finest luxuries money can buy, but your churches are certainly filled with items you could do without. And what about the huge cross outside your church with which the preacher vowed to humiliate McDonalds?

I do credit churches for doing good works, but why limit those works because you feel guilty forcing your choir to be seen in robes that can be bought on the cheap via a discount choir robes website your internet security company warns you not to visit. Hey, why not let them sing in their regular clothes? Would their voices not adequately inspire?

I get it; you're 100% certain that your beliefs are accurate and you're already preparing for the day on which you'll be judged. But do you really think you'll receive a negative grade for choosing to provide hot meals to malnourished children instead of equipping the church bathroom with name brand soft soap that smells like a meadow.

I just have a problem with paying to spruce up a place in which people come together to worship an entity that no one can prove exists when you can look into the actual eyes of a starving child. But for some reason you have no problem seeing a being that isn't there, while flesh and blood born without hope suffer greatly.