As August wanes and summer begins drawing to a close, we find ourselves once again transitioning from a time of summer’s freedom to a time of more routine and obligation. Our vacations, barbecues, camping and all the other wonderful expressions of our individual freedom fade into a time where schedules and a more formal sense of community govern our lives through the fall and winter.

For our kids, the unfettered glory of summer will soon be replaced with the structure and repetition of school.

Every year, as I watch the freedom of summer’s slow fade, I am reminded of how our lives in faith, in our families and our community echo this transition. As we progress through life, we are either given or naturally begin to assume more responsibility. As we do so, our own personal freedoms start to diminish as we look to the concerns of our obligations, or our family, or our community, and begin to see the need to put our own purely self-centered desires on hold. And, although this is a normal part of the maturation process, our natural inclination is to stand against the loss of freedom from time to time.

I believe that one of the more common ways people of faith do this is through placing unrealistic demands or standards on their places of worship. We begin to move from an authentic expression of wonder and awe for God to a more cynical and selfish faith that focuses on what we can get out of it, or how it makes us feel.

In I Corinthians 1:10, Paul says to the Church in Corinth, who have been bickering about details and missing the big picture: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” Here, the apostle entreats his fellow believers to put their own preferences aside for the good of the greater church.

If we study the text, history and context of I Corinthians, we can get a good idea of what they are really arguing about, that being which church leader they think is best and specific ways of worship, among other things.  Sound familiar? When we approach the act of worship with our personal freedom and preferences at the forefront, we miss the point. We are called to worship God, not ourselves.

If we as Christians are to tangibly live out the Great Commandment call to “love God and love others,” then at some point we have to set aside our concern over what we like best and how worship makes us feel. And this isn’t because God doesn’t cherish our individuality and uniqueness, but rather because we are created in his image, not the other way around.

So as summer slowly surrenders to the fall, I pray that we as followers of Christ might surrender ourselves to a spirit of unity, just as Paul desired for the church in Corinth.