The “Pew” Potato

“Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching.” —1 Samuel 4:13

We are all familiar with the term “couch potato.”  It originated in 1976. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a couch-potato as “a person disinclined to activity or exertion, esp. one who spends a great deal of time watching television.”

When I mention “couch potato” you may visualize someone who epitomizes that word.  It is probably an image of someone who sits regularly in front of a TV with a remote in one hand and a beverage or snack in the other hand… probably overweight… and having a blank expression on his/her face.

I recently heard about a “Pew Potato.”  Like a “couch potato,” this is a Christian who sits regularly in church wanting to be entertained while snacking on his or her religion. They sit gazing with a blank look on their face.  And like the “couch potato,” the “pew potato” is disinclined to any spiritual involvement or exertion.  I’ve seen these “pew potatoes” all too often as I’ve stood behind the pulpit and looked over the congregation. They’re easy to spot by the blank expressions on their face.

Christianity is not a spectator sport.  I’m reminded of a cartoon I saw in a church bulletin.  A husband and wife are walking out church after a morning service. The husband has a very disgruntled look on his face. His wife says to him, “What did you expect for only a dollar?”  To get the most of your church, you need to be involved and invested in it. You’ll only get out of it what you put into it.

Don’t be a “pew potato.” God didn’t save you to sit—He saved you to serve!