The Spirit of Religion

Our walk is not about religion, it's about relationship. The spirit of religion will suffocate the life out of a christian making them ineffective for the kingdom of God. My Jesus has a sense of humor. I have met some stuffy Christians in my time and let me tell you, I would much rather be around sinners.

Paul said "I become all things to all people that I may win some." When I read that scripture, it screams flexibility. People with a spirit of religion on their life can not be flexible because of all the legalism issues they must deal with. You will see this mindset a lot in the traditional church because of their "ritualistic" nature. When we place religion above obedience to the Holy Spirit, we have chosen to defy the very nature of Jesus Himself.

I have been a police officer in a large metropolitan area for over 13 years now. I have seen man commit some horrible things against his fellow man. One thing is for sure, when your in that type of environment long enough, you become hardened and cynical. I don't know how I would make it without Jesus in my life and a sense of humor. Divorce, adultery and alcoholism run rampant in the public safety field because of the high stress levels we face. As I go into work everyday, I realize that first and foremost my boss is Jesus and not a man. I must first be obedient to His voice before anything else. If I were so caught up in a religious mindset that even curse words offended me, how could I possibly be an effective witness to citizens and fellow officers on my job? But there are some people out there that have such a religious spirit on their lives that just the mere mention of a curse word and you would think the devil himself manifested. No wonder the world thinks we're a bunch of hypocrites.

What worked in the past is not going to work now. Even Billy Graham himself has said that the way he evangelized 20-30 years ago is not effective in today's culture. If we are so religious that we can not be like the Apostle Paul and "be all things to all people", we have become useless to the kingdom. Lives will not be changed sitting behind the four walls of the church on Sunday morning. Lives will be changed on the battlefield.