Religion does not fail everyone but it does fail some if not most. Religion, which is defined by Webster’s Online Dictionary  as “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” Religion, as defined by Webster, is a noble pursuit but it is not an end in and of itself. From my perspective religion fails when it is not sincere, when it is not based on truth, when it is not focused on God, and when it does not serve others.

For one, religion fails when it is not sincere. Jesus once said in Mark 7:6-8, “And He said to them, ‘Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ ‘Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.’” Jesus criticized the Pharisees and Scribes for prioritizing their own human traditions over the since worship of God. It is very easy for those of us who go to church or read the Bible to just “go through the motions” with little or no concern for the quality of our relationship with God. The same can be true of any relationship (perhaps especially a marriage). In marriage, if we’re not careful, we can lose that first love that we once had for that other person and instead we let the cares of this world distract us from the quality of our relationship with God. Some have said “Christianity is not a religion but a relationship.” I’m not so sure I agree with that statement considering that James uses the idea of religion in a positive way in James 1:27. However, I think what that statement is suggesting is that like the Pharisees as well as the Church of Ephesus in Revelation 2, we can get so immersed in our traditions, rituals, service to God and even in our orthodox theology that we lose our sincerity and passion.

Second, religion fails when it is not true. I’m sure many of our atheist bloggers will capitalize on this statement in order to mock Christians for our faith. As a reminder, each of our readers have to remember that an absolute negation is a logical fallacy because one cannot claim to know absolutely everything there is to know about life, God and everything else. Irrespective of how deluded that Richard Dawkins thinks we are, the reality is that as a scientist or even a human, he cannot know for certain or even scientifically prove that God does not exist. We are frail humans who are constantly learning but we must remember that we do not have all the answers. Having said that, as a Christian I am confident that God does have the answers and He has revealed His truth in the Bible. As a result, while sincerity is an important aspect of religion, it is not the only aspect of religion. Good people can be sincerely wrong. Paul says in Romans 10:1-3, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” While Paul admired the Jews of his day, he criticized them for not worshiping the true God. In fact, even worse, like much of humanity, they decided to establish themselves as the basis of righteousness as opposed to the true righteousness of God. What is this righteousness? Paul expresses it in Romans 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Paul points out that true salvation is only found in Christ, the true God (along with the Father and the Holy Spirit).

Third, religion fails when it is not focused on God. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Irrespective of how much people go to church, they cannot worship God and an idol at the same time. They cannot serve God and money or God and fame or even God and themselves (self-idolatry seems to be the biggest problem of this age according to 2 Timothy 3:2). True religion must be focused on serving the one True God with everything we have. It must be a religion of surrender to His will at the elimination of our own way of doing things.

Finally, religion fails when it is not focused on serving others. James 1:26-27 says, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” According to James, the truest form of religion is guarding our tongue and serving others. Jesus and James agree that one should not just help those who can help us but even those who have no ability to help us like widows and orphans. A religion that does not serve others is a dead faith. This is one of my concerns for contemporary American Christianity. We are commonly better known for what we as Christians are against than what we are for. We argue about the importance of eradicating abortion, gay marriage and other social ills with little or no compassion for the people who are involved. American Christianity is quickly becoming an attempt to manipulate American culture in such a way that will accommodate our needs and desires rather than serving the needs of others. One of the ways in which the early church won over the heart of the Roman society was in their care for the poor and helpless as well as their uncompromising devotion to Jesus. We should be encouraged to do the same.

May God bless you as you seek truth in all you do…Joe Parle