“…and God???” Skipping services affects no one but me and God? Since when are humans more important than God?
There is an infinite difference between measuring God by our standards and measuring ourselves by his. We have to start with God when we look at everything. Since He came first, He comes first. God is not just a bigger version of us, He has commanded us to “Keep holy the Lord’s day,” and he has a right to demand this of us. Anything of value in our lives (including human life) has value only because of God’s infinitely greater value. But Divine Services are not just a matter of acknowledging His sovereignty, which is what worship is. It is being present at the foot of the cross and giving thanks for the Passion and death that He endured for our benefit.
God loves us so much that He underwent all that suffering to demonstrate His love for us in a way we could somewhat understand. To skip Divine Liturgy is just one of many ways of turning our backs on that love.
