So, those of you that know me over Facebook or possibly otherwise know that last week I hopped on the bandwagon and posted the video Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word. In this video Jefferson Bethke explains in poetic form why he hates the title of Religion but still loves our savior. This is what I wanna talk about right now.
To me when people claim to be "Religious" it means their scared of something. It means they wanna be in control or they don't want people to make fun of them. It's the human attempt to take hold of their lives. All our lives we're told that we have to be more independent, that we have to be able to operate as lone soldiers in this cruel world, but this isn't entirely true, is it? Religion is the opposite side of the spectrum; if Religion is our attempt to be independent while still believing there is a "greater force in the universe", then Christianity is the admittance that we don't have to face this world alone. Religion is man saying "I can do this, I can do anything by myself," Christianity is man saying "God, I need you, my life is dark and I do need your help," for without Christ by our sides our world is bleak. Religion is the mask we wear to attempt to gain control, but haven't we seen those "failure and success" stories that tell of a mans dark life before God then his life when he accepted Christ?
Awhile ago my grandma showed me a Komo4 News story about Pennsylvania's Secret Santa. The Secret Santa goes around every year and hands out hundreds to people who seem like they need it. Some may say this is a foolish act, he's wasting his money, what if they're drug addicts who just take the money and use it to buy their next hit? But it's that speculation that glorifies our God, you see, one night the Secret Santa is going about his tradition as usual when he happens upon a distressed looking man in a bus station (correct me if I'm wrong on the location). The Secret Santa sits beside him and hands him a $100 bill. The man stares at the bill in his hand then begins crying, saying he doesn't deserve this money. Later we find out that this man was a meth addict, and a pretty bad one at that. The month previous to this story he had sold all of his sons toys for drug money. The night previous to this story he had gotten into yet another argument about money with his girlfriend. They had yelled and screamed until finally at a loss for anything else to say or do the girlfriend suggests that he just pray. Not knowing anything better he could do, no quick fix or anything, he prays. This being the first time since his childhood he had prayed combined with him not being "Religious" by any means and his actions since his childhood, he didn't think his prayers would be answered. But then came the Secret Santa who spotted this disheveled and distressed man in a bus station and decided to help. While crying, the Secret Santa simply kept pulling out bills and handing them to the man, not yet even knowing the story only wanting to help, all the while doing Gods work. The former meth addict accepted God on the spot. He's now in rehab again as he has before, but he says that unlike any other time, he has his Savior on his side.
I bring this story up because it shows how we need God. It shows that you cannot simply be Religious. You can't just believe in a higher power. You see, what people who claim to be Religious don't understand is that the central difference between being Religious, or believing in God but not loving God, and Christianity is the relationship. At the heart of Christianity is a relationship. Religion is Man looking for God, Christianity is God looking for Man. At the heart of Religion is a set of rules. It says that if you just follow these rules you can go to heaven, but that's not all of it. You have to know Him, you have to know your God. He loves you, He wants you.
I used to be one of those "Religious" people, too scared to tell people I believed in "some dude in the sky" and not sure if I really did. I was scared of my sins. Most people see the church as a place for people without sin, a place for people who make almost no mistakes, or as Bethke puts it "a Museum for Good People," but they fail to realize that if you love God you revel in your sin. Everyone sins, ever since the Fall of Man, we cannot help it, it's part of who we are. The church Jesus built is a rehab, not a prison; it's a "Hospital for the Broken."
But I digress, I think I may have gotten a bit off subject...in Bethkes' poem he talks about how he hates Religion, but I think he means as an umbrella term, as a mask. I don't think he was discriminating against other religions which I saw many people on YouTube expressing, I think he meant Religion as an ideal, a shield for those who aren't saved but walk around acting as if they were, if that makes sense. Religion in this context is something more people have an issue with every day. I mean, you know there's an issue when people only identify you as a Christian by your FACEBOOK.
PS i didn't mean to offend anyone, i was simply trying to put what i thought into words. if you want something that may be unclear clarified just ask :-)
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