Even though I am an ordained minister and a retired military chaplain, I do not consider myself especially religious. I find many drawbacks to being exceedingly devoted to religion. We can ask ourselves what really is the benefit of religion? Jesus did not seem to appreciate the religion of his day. Quite often he purposely healed somebody on the Sabbath which was a breaking of the Mosaic law according to the Pharisees. As they walked through a field, he permitted his disciples to gather grain since they were hungry to the objection from leaders of the religion of his day.
Allow me to explain my first sentence in this blog. My concern is not to be religious or to conform to religious principles. My concern for me is to be assured I have a right relationship with Jesus Christ as my Savior. In fact, Christianity was not intended to be created as a new religion. Nor was it to be an amendment to the current Jewish religion. Christ is the central figure of Christianity which means he should be the central figure of our thoughts and our spirits. Worship of God is a result of that relationship that we establish by accepting his forgiveness for our sin.
To me, and in some cases the sign on the lawn in front of the building could indicate that what goes on inside is a benefit or a distraction to spiritual growth. It is likely, that people come to know Christ as Savior in spite of that sign on the lawn and not because of it. There is a missing element in the makeup of every human being that was lost in the Garden of Eden. It is almost like there is a hole in our spirit. Only Christ can bring healing to our deformed spirit. He did not come to reform religion. He did come to reform the way people approach their eternal destiny.
Some people relinquish a close encounter with God because their religion puts constituents in a position in which they overly rely on the clergy or the rudiments of their religion. Their spiritual life is rarely taken into consideration by surrendering that responsibility to someone else or to some other function. I asked a man one time if he ever read the Bible. He responded this way, “Why should I? That’s the responsibility of my priest to tell me what it says.”
Religion can be quite perverted because of pseudo-leaders who add or subtract portions from the Bible. Some create an additional reading that does not even contain the principles of God’s Word. Some do it for financial gain by manipulating those in attendance. These leaders may reinterpret for their own benefit or manipulation of others by certain verses. There are many functions in most religions that have little value and accomplish little. What is the big deal about particular rituals? What is the reason that the leaders or the followers are expected to dress differently? Does that actually bring them closer to God?
Even the basics that Jesus established such as communion or the Lord’s supper has been adjusted. In ancient times non-Christians accused believers of being cannibals by saying they ate and drank the body and blood of Christ. No matter what labels we put to that, we know that’s not true. We put so much emphasis on membership and baptism just so that we can count heads and look more prestigious.
The end result of many religions is an ethical and moral standing without taking into consideration where a person’s soul will spend eternity. Religion has become so polluted by the world that it’s a competition for attendees by how well we can entertain them. Our principal concern should be the soul. Our basis of authority should be the Bible.
Allow me to switch gears for the moment. Religion does give us structure. It does provide expectations for the devout. It creates a fellowship among attendees. It can support those who are emotionally or spiritually troubled if provided sound counsel. It offers educational opportunities for both the leaders and the followers. Most important of all, a healthy religion encourages people that there is hope in this life and for the next.
My advice to you is not to be so wrapped up in your religion that you lose sight of Christ as the Savior. The rules and regulations within your religion may be a means whereby the complaint lives a higher level of life. Through most religions there is some form of helping the needy.
It is simple. If your religion is an assistant to a heavenly destination, consider it just that. If there is so much involved in the religion like there was with the Pharisees at the time of Jesus, your religion may just be a stumbling block for you and a distraction from God.
Christian Writer 