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| I did not grow up with religious inclinations. I viewed our occasional church attendance as a nuisance that got in the way of 100 things I’d rather be doing. So it is always surprising to me how any people are religious. Being religious is not necessarily about being devoted to God. By being religious I mean attending a church, synagogue, or temple and practicing religious rituals. I’ve run into people for whom such practices are not particularly enjoyable or meaningful but it somehow makes them feel better about themselves – like they are doing a good thing, something they ought to do, or fulfilling some obligation to God. Furthermore, religious involvement often leads to good things – helping others, attending to self-evaluation and improvement, and adopting lofty values. And sometimes, being religious can even lead to a personal encounter with God. But like many drugs on the market today religion seems to come with the dangerous possibility of serious side effects. Involvement in religious practices sometimes makes us feel too good about ourselves, so that it is about us, not God. It is ironic that something that is meant to focus one's attention on God should be twisted into a self-orientation. Even helping others, self-improvement, and lofty values that stem from religious convictions can produce arrogant, smug, intolerant, and judgmental attitudes. Feeling good about one’s religious involvement seems to be easily twisted into pride and feeling superior. Even a casual reader of the gospels will notice that it was the religious and devout people who were most antagonistic to Jesus. And Jesus, for his part, directly confronted them with their hypocrisy, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘this people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me’” (Mark 7:6). Pride, and especially religious pride, is perhaps the greatest barrier to a genuine encounter with God. I am not suggesting that you abandon religious practices. Indeed, I find myself becoming more religious. Piety does not need to lead to pride and arrogance. The safeguard against the dangers of religiosity is not becoming less devout; rather it is to continually make sure your religious practices are not about you but about God. Your religious inclinations should realign your focus on meeting and serving God. |
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by Dr. J. Patrick Curtis, Senior Pastor |
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