I am one who practices a religion of my choice, praises God for my many blessings, and depended on the man upstairs when my world was falling apart all too many times.

However...

The other day I found myself drowning with a group of people who speak of their religion as a part of their identity. (which is totally cool!) However, not one person was friendly and each of them talked poorly of one another when one person left. It definitely made me think, "Is religion the reason why Americans have strayed away from the value of kindness?"

Is this because we believe all sins will be forgiven, so do as we want and abandon the value of being a decent human being?

Each barrier that stands in my way, every failure I have had, each loss that I've spent way too much time thinking about - people love to inject their pearls of wisdom reassuring me that, "God has a plan" and "everything will be okay." But, while these words have impressive power and I often believe them - I am often disturbed by those who use these phrases or speak of their religion when their actions have spoken far louder. I can't help but be troubled by those who have the audacity to say them. (I by no means am trying to target a vast majority of society. Again, I am religious, too).

The reason being - many of these people's actions do not correlate with the words they speak. An example that comes to mind is whenever I am faced with a problem and when this information gets to this person, they'll gladly write on a social media platform to express words of kindness. But, unless there's someone watching - they wouldn't care. I am a firm believer that practicing a religion is the creator of close-mindedness. Religious people depict themselves as superior and justify poor behaviors because of the fact that they'll be forgiven by their Creator.

While yes, many of these people are well-meaning people but I also think an equal amount of these people I am referring to, shove their religion on others to exploit their religion agenda for social standings and a reason to justify being rude. Christians, for example believe, "They will know we are Christians by our love!" Unless I interpret love differently or have standards that are far too high or even blinded by love - many of you need to be more concerned about showing love rather than being loved.

I was reading an article the other day, and the person mentioned how she based her church on who goes on mission trips and if they fulfill her traveling desires.

To say the least, I was baffled by her honesty. Mission trips have painted themselves a picture. My theory was confirmed after reading this article. Mission trips have strayed away from their actual purpose of helping people around the world who are less fortunate. Instead, many use it to con people into fulfilling their personal traveling desires and as an opportunity to glamorize their overall image and social media platforms.

So, those of you who have the desire to help people and become missionaries - I commend you. But, unless you have an incredible passion and a love for humanity that draws you around the world, there are a plethora of ways you can be a great asset right on your own soil. You may not be able to get glamorous pictures that will make your Instagram profile look good, but you'll get a new set of eyes that will allow you to see things differently with a brand new perspective and a more open heart.

And for the ones who are religious, keep praising your god. But, if the religion you have chosen to practice makes you a person who justifies being mean or doing certain behaviors... I ask that you reevaluate and find yourself a new religion.