“Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:23-24, NIV)
A popular Internet video, viewed now by more than six million people, makes a statement that many others—those who think themselves on the cutting edge—have also been saying in recent years: “I hate religion, but I love Jesus.”
Of course, this idea is no newer than the Vardon grip or the power lag. Mahatma Gandhi famously said, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” The best ideas today always retain the excellence of the past.
But if we are wise to the words of Scripture, we will recognize that the critics of religion—be they friendly or fierce—are latecomers to the party. God himself spoke harshly to those who played games with their “faith.”
Through the prophets God raged against those who were called shepherds but let the sheep stray and starve (Ezekiel 34:1-6). He spoke angrily in the direction of those who erected idols in their hearts and worshipped them first (Ezekiel 14:1-5). And through Amos, he even called for the halting of worship songs if all they were doing was masking the true nature of those who sang them.
Jesus took up this refrain when he confronted the Pharisees, who had let their many added regulations become the essence of their religion. “Woe to you,” he told them. “You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23).
At the core of living out our faith, God has always had the biggest matters in mind. To our ongoing shame, when we think of religion, we do indeed tend to erect structures that are easier to accomplish—tidy little indicators that we can point to and declare that we’re doing all right.
Religion versus God isn’t really the problem. James wrote that there is such a thing as true (or acceptable) religion: “to look after widows and orphans in their distress and keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). The problem rests in pretense versus authenticity, surface displays versus real commitment, empty words versus effective service. If we’re missing in our understanding of these differences, then yes, the world is missing seeing Jesus in us.
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Jeff Hopper
January 16, 2012
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday through Friday at www.linksplayers.com.