Working Full-Time

We all have a religion. Opposing religion is a religion of its own. It's whatever we worship. It's the moral code we uphold. It's our set of beliefs and values. We all have a religion.

If you want to know my religion, sit by me in church. I scribble notes like mad, and I always bring a Bible. If you want to know my religion, come with me to YC- Canada's largest Christian youth conference. You'll notice I raise my hands when I sing and listen carefully to the speakers. If you want to know my religion, come with me to Bible Study. I like to question and have healthy discussions about godly things.

If you want to know my religion, follow me to my religious events. Don't bother hanging out with me at home, don't come with me downtown, don't watch me while I work. Come to my Christian events, and I'll show you a Christian me.

People know I'm a Christian... when I'm leading Sunday School at church. People know I'm a Christian... when I go to youth group. People know I'm a Christian when they see me at Prayer Walk. They know my religion, because they know my schedule.

It's so wrong. It's embarrassingly wrong. When did we forget that religion is a full-time job?

Events become our religion. Conferences become our faith. The rare mission trip becomes our devotion to God. Church becomes our beliefs. Bible Studies become our Christian lifestyle. Our religion is restricted to our Jesus-events. Our Jesus-seminars, our Jesus-camps, our Jesus-services.

It's an intrinsic 'law' we feel we must abide by. "You're not a Christian until you: attend prayer meeting, serve overseas, cook for the church potluck, go on the youth retreat, help out at the homeless shelter, and go to the Christian youth rally." Events become our religion. Our religion becomes our hobby. Our faith becomes our weekly, monthly, and yearly routine.

There's a great song by Switchfoot, called The World You Want. I implore you to listen to it, and really pay attention to the lyrics. The bridge, especially, perfectly outlines the problem I'm trying to address:

What you say is your religion

How you say it's your religion

Who you love is your religion

How you love is your religion

All your science, your religion

All your hatred, your religion

All your wars are your religion

Every breath is your religion

YC is not my religion. School is not my religion. Bible Study is not my religion. Prayer Walk is not my religion. Church is not my religion. Prayer Meeting is not my religion. Youth Group is not my religion. 

Those things may nurture; those things may help me grow closer to God, but they are timed events. They happen on a schedule. It doesn't matter whether my heart is in the right place or not- when I attend these events, I put on a 'Christian face' and play the part. It doesn't matter whether I am in tune with God, it doesn't matter whether I am truly trying to serve him, because this is my Christian Schedule, and I will do whatever it takes to accomplish the task at hand.

That's not religion. That's an itinerary.

No, what I'm doing now is my religion. How I spend my time online is my religion. What I think about as I sleep is my religion. How I talk to my family is my religion. The times where I give until it kills me- that's my religion. How I look to strangers- that's my religion. The books I read, the movies I watch, the songs I download, the food I eat, the places I go, the money I spend, the average, everyday things I do... that's my religion.

Don't show me your Sunday School attendance. Don't show me your YC merch. Don't show me your church bulletin, Devotional books, or Worship CDs. 

Show me your conversations with your friends. Show me your thoughts in front of the mirror. Show me how you spend your money. Show me your attitude at your minimum-wage job. Show me the boring, most mundane parts of your life... because chances are, the average things happen the most often. That's your life. So that's your religion.

Colossians 3:23 ~ 

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as if working for the Lord, not for men.

Hygiene 101

After dancing for a few hours, I tend to be a bit sweaty. Okay, maybe a lot. After exerting myself physically in any way, the first thing I do upon coming home is jump in the shower. It's basic hygiene. It's drilled into all of us from a young age: Brush your teeth twice a day, shower, use deodorant, wash your hands.

A good sense of personal hygiene is almost non-existent for young children. Once they hit puberty, however, it becomes increasingly necessary. Hygienic habits must be formed if young teenagers want to have any friends. Deodorant is no longer an option. For adults, basic personal healthcare should be second nature. Responsible people are those who take care of themselves daily, and come to work looking presentable.

My little brother is coming up to that age where he is starting to stink. Like, 'stink' does not do him justice, actually. Unfortunately, he is still in the frame of mind as he was last year, when he didn't stink. Therefore, the idea of showering every day is as foreign as the idea of eating a toad. It's annoying, time-consuming, and boring. He tries to get away without showering, but it's not long before one of his suffocating siblings and/or parents drags  him to the shower in desperation.

I remember being that age, and being angry at the sudden responsibility of showering. How annoying! No more time to play around- I actually had to be CLEAN? So I thought to myself, maybe I can just spend a whole day cleaning myself. Yeah. I'll take a Saturday and clean myself more than I ever have before. I decided I would take an hour-long shower and wash my hair three times. I scrubbed myself raw. I brushed my hair until it shone, I cleaned my ears, cut my nails, brushed and flossed until my gums bled, and put on clothes straight out of the dryer.

There. Good for another week.

Wrong. So wrong. Gross, actually. I was not aware of one basic and very important principle: It is not the length of the shower that matters, but the frequency of your showers. The length of the shower does not dictate how long you can wait before your next one. Take an hour-long shower on Sunday, and you will still reek by the end of the week. However, take a 10-minute shower every day, and you will be fresh and clean all week!

What's the point of this hopefully obvious hygiene lesson? Simply this: those of us who treat our relationship with God like a once-a-week shower, are just setting ourselves up for a nasty surprise. Attending church and Bible Study once a week does not excuse us from coming to God daily.

It's something I struggle with all the time. "I read my Bible for a LONG time yesterday... maybe I'm good for today, too." It's such a warped concept of a relationship, don't you think? Spending time with someone so that you can ignore them until you absolutely have to visit them again? What kind of friendship is that?

I try to talk with my close friends every day. A three-hour discussion one day does not give me the opportunity to tune out of their life for the next week. The people we talk to once in a blue moon are not often our close friends. No, our closest friends are the ones that we talk to every day. They're the ones we run to when we have a problem. They're the ones we phone up when we just need to rant. They're the ones whose houses we can barge into without fear of angering them. They're the ones who listen, and do not judge. That's why they're our closest friends.

Maybe some of you will read this and think, "Good point," then shut off your computer and go to bed. Maybe I can't convince you of the importance of consistent, daily God-time. But I will venture to put this forth:

Someday, we will stand before God the Judge. And as it says in Matthew 7, some will come to Him shouting, "Lord, Lord!" These are the people who thought they were right with God. They were confident that they were registered in heaven, but all the while, they were lost. And what will God tell them? Verse 23~

Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. 

Away from me, you evildoers!"

"I never knew you." That's what he'll tell them. Do you know God? Do you sacrifice your time to spend time with the one who sacrificed His life? Are you taking the time to get to know your Saviour? Time is running out for all of us. With this short life that we are given, it is our sole purpose to meet Jesus, seek Jesus, know Jesus, follow Jesus, and give up our lives for Jesus. And if we don't know Jesus... then we are wasting our life. 

Isn't it ironic how we avoid reading our Bibles and praying, because we are short on time? Isn't it funny how we think there are more important things we could be doing, like studying for tests, working on homework, talking to friends, or running errands? Isn't it strange that we, thinking we are saving time, are actually wasting it? Every time we refuse to make time for getting to know God, we waste precious moments. He is all that matters in this life, and the life to come. 

And yet, He is still the One that we treat as an option.

To put it bluntly, maybe you're starting to stink. Spiritually. When was the last time you showered? Maybe it was a good long shower, like at church or Sunday School or youth group or Bible Study. But it's a new day, and you've exerted yourself. You may be tired, weary, sore, and mentally exhausted. But that's what the shower is for. The shower of living water.

Jeremiah 31:25~

I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.

Psalm 19:7~

The Law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes

of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.