How Does Religion Become so Convoluted?

How can a human potentate sit in an ornate but man-made chair and proclaim he is speaking for Deity? How can a mother carry a baby to a basin of water and have a man in a robe sprinkle that tiny forehead and then walk away believing she has affected that baby’s eternal destiny? How can an entire world of religionists decide that baptism, the point of contact with the blood of Christ (Romans 6:3,4), has nothing to do with washing away sins? How can a man convince himself that all heartfelt worship is pleasing to the same God who destroyed Nadab and Abihu for a small departure from the God-prescribed details of worship (Lev. 10:1-7)?  How can we believe that everyone who cries out to the Lord for salvation will be saved, when the Lord himself stated the opposite (Matt. 7:21)?

The answer: We can only do it when we stop studying the Word for ourselves. If you want to be spiritually comfortable in this life, get out of the Word. Go to church. Pray. Give to the poor. Look around you for community standards of morality. Talk about values. Teach your children the golden rule. But DO NOT study your Bible! It’s kind of a fun way of life. Other people respect you because you are religious. Your children can be popular because they are accepting of all “people of faith”. They can participate in all of the activities of their peers, because God wants them to be happy. Your god is a god of pluralism…a god who is accepting of all good and sincere hearts. There are few pangs of conscience because the verses you are violating don’t pop into your unstudied head. There are no real rules of religion, but it sure makes you feel good to be religious.

And all is well with you and your household…until the judgment day.

I hope you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to get in the Book every single day during 2010.

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(Above taken from “Women of Troubled Times,” by Cindy Colley, Publishing Designs, Huntsville, AL)