"I'm not in a religion, I'm in a relationship."

"Jesus hated religious people"

"I'm not religious, I just love Jesus."

"I don't believe in religion, I believe in Jesus."

These are things you often hear Christian speakers say when they're giving their sermon. I know what they're trying to say when they say "I don't like religion" or "religion is bad." They mean we get so caught up in the traditions of the church that we lose sight of genuinely worshiping God. They say religion is nothing more than a set of "do's and don'ts." Don't curse, don't hate someone else, don't lust, don't steal, don't lie...etc. They say that is what religion is and not what true Christianity is. Every single time I hear a speaker say something along the lines of "religion is bad" I get so frustrated. I like the intent behind the words. We shouldn't get lost in tradition so much that it becomes numb to us every time we take communion or worship God. But shifting the blame from ourselves and onto "religion" is not the answer. We turn it around and say it's religion's fault that we're not getting anything out of Sunday morning church, or that when we pray we don't feel anything. When in reality it is something within ourselves that is doing this to us.

The definition of religion in the dictionary is this: "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods." Here is another one, and I like this one better and will speak on this more. "a particular system of faith and worship."

That one right there is Christianity perfectly defined. So first off, whether you like it or not, you are in a religion if you are a Christian. So stop saying you're not. Stop saying you're not in a religion and that you're in a relationship. You are in and a part of both. So hush. Second off, you will argue that your relationship is not (as the definition states) "a particular system."

Ah but it is!

Every Sunday you go to church. Every day you pray to God. Every day you read your Bible. Every Christmas you celebrate Jesus' birth. Every Easter you celebrate His resurrection. Then you rinse and repeat for years and years. This isn't a bad thing, so please do not misunderstand me. But you need to hear this. People bash religion for it's overuse of rituals and traditions. But what these speakers fail to realize is they advocate and participate in every single Christian "ritual." They pray, worship, take communion, go to church and everything else just like "tradition" says. To say "I'm not religious" is a rather idiotic thing to say since you preform religious practices every day within the Christian faith. Where would many of us Christians today be if it were not for these rituals that Christianity holds? Where would the church be without prayer? Without communion? Without baptism? These rituals are essential to our religion. And Christianity is a religion whether you like it or not. Religion is not a bad thing. Modern day evangelists have distorted the meaning of religion. It now carries a negative connotation to it. When in reality the opposite should occur. A positive and encouraging connotation should arise with the word!

Lastly, we need to stop saying "I'm not in a religion" because it tears down those who choose to acknowledge their faith as a religion. To say "I'm not in a religion, I'm in a relationship" is elevating yourself on a pedestal and appearing better than everyone else. When you say "I'm in a relationship" you are saying "these other guys who say they're in a religion, yeah I'm better than them. Because I have a relationship. I'm not like these other guys. I'm in a relationship. You can keep your religion. I'll keep Jesus." You build yourself up at the expense of other fellow believers! How hypocritical can you be!

Christianity is a religion and once we stop trying to hide from this fact, then we can start to get back on the right track and start reaching the lost people of this world. Stop calling yourself non-religious. You are. Stop saying your relationship is not a religion. It is. Stop saying religion is nothing but rituals. It isn't. Stop saying religious people are bad.

They're not.

They're you.