To Hell With Religion
"The devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God."
-Donald Miller, "Blue Like Jazz"
re-li-gion
–noun
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.
I can't stand religious practices. Some of the times I've felt most disconnected from God were times I've spent in some of the churches I've attended. You get so caught up in routine and ritual that God is completely left out of the equation. There were times I'd sit there in church counting down the minutes before I could leave, and you always knew when that would be because the service lasted the exact same amount of time. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Opening song.
Greeting time. 5 minutes.
2 more songs.
Prayer.
Lord's prayer.
Call to worship.
Sermon (20-30 minutes depending on length of songs).
Prayer.
Communion.
Closing song.
Closing prayer.
1 hour and 15 minutes later... free from all this church stuff. Once, at one church, we installed a new pastor. His first couple of sermons ran a few minutes over causing people to get out 10-15 minutes later than normal and he would catch hell for it. People were more concerned about beating the Sunday afternoon crowds to lunch than worshipping God.
The religious practices were so mundane and so focused on not changing order, following established timelines, and getting to lunch... it was like falling into a trap. Which it is. One put forth by a very cunning enemy.
I was in that trap for a long time, entangled in it, and didn't even realize what had happened to me. I'd go, sing the songs, pray the prayers, time the sermon, and do it all without any emotion, joy, or reverance. I'd think more about where and with whom I'd go to lunch that day than about God sending his son to die on a cross for my sins.
Epic fail. I had to either get out of the rut or get out of the church! Unfortunately, there weren't many people who were willing to get out of the rut, so I had to get out of those churches.
I might eat a little later in the day, but spiritually I'm much fuller.
Very interesting post. I have Blue Like Jazz sitting on the self but have not read it...my sister gave it to me. I'll have to crack into that soon. I can relate about the time / order of church thing. I've felt guilty in church more than once about checking the clock. I also agree that some people can get caught up in the legalism of religion and not have a true heart for Jesus which is sad. Once someone has the Lord in their life, they should "want" to do the things God calls us to do, not just do them to mark a check off a list. However, I do think that there is need for fellowship and a body of believers to come together and praise God...but here on this sinful earth we may never get that perfect "church". But what matters above all is what's in our hearts :) Good post!