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Brothers and Sisters, Let us Check our "Religion"

These are crazy times. What I am struck by, and have been struck by over the past number of years, is how incorrigibly religious we are. I'm not talking about what church we belong to or what organized faith we claim to ascribe to. I'm talking about how we turn literally anything into a "religion" in the worst sense of the word. I see it happen today with politics and with just about any social issue or cause that is out there.

What does it mean to "religionize" something? It means at least these three things:
1. We turn that thing into the way we mentally divide the world into good and bad, part of the solution of part of what is wrong in the world.
2. That thing is viewed as at least part of the solution for fixing the world. ("if we would all just... then everything would be better")
3. That thing becomes part of our sense of righteousness and identity. We're on the "good" side, and those other people aren't. We're the ones who see clearly, and those people are "sheep." We feel superior to them in some way -whether more correct, more objective, more compassionate, less fearful, or however else we seek to gauge and compare ourselves to others.

The hallmark of "religionization" is the belief that the problem is "out there."

I see this religious aspect in both secular people and highly religious people. And I see it in myself.

What ought to make belonging to Jesus Christ different from this, if we are indeed His?
1. The world is still divided into good and bad. But on the good side is God, not us. That doesn't mean there is no right and wrong to be decided on issues. It just means that while on any particular issue we might be correct and another wrong, we're all ultimately infected with the same problem that makes the world the way it is.
2. And since the problem is "in us" just as much as it is "out there", we're not the saviors of the world. We should indeed look for ways to better society, to love neighbor, to preserve rights, and to help those in need. But ultimately we know that our hope is not in our ability to fix everything. Our hope is in the One who will return some day (maybe soon) to restore all things and make all things right.
3. Our righteousness is not our own. It's not based on my position on various issues. It's not based on how many articles I read on the internet that support my point of view. It's not based on how "stupid" I think other people are for believing something that might truly be wrong and misguided. I might be correct on something, here or there, but none of those things make me "righteous" or better than anyone. There are none righteous, not in themselves. Our only righteousness is outside of us, based purely on what Jesus did for us and provided to us as a gift. Every time I depart from that I am very likely exacerbating my part in the human problem.

Lord, may our perspective on things happening in our world be seasoned and colored by the Good News of who You are and what You have done for us. Help me to maintain that perspective.

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