Anti-religion

Clem Ferris recently spoke a word over my husband and me saying we were anti-religion. I laughed because it is so true. Religion hurts people. Relationship with God builds the body of Christ. He said we would “Blast down the walls of religion that tries to minimize people.” There are so many who need to be set free. Religion is sometimes a mere list of Thou Shalt Not versus what we should do for Christ. The Bible calls us to be doers of the word and not hearers only. If you are constantly told what you cannot do versus what you can do through his power and strength, it lends itself to pain, guilt, and anxiety. I know! I lived so many years convinced I was the worst of the worst because I kept hearing the list of don’ts, which made it difficult to work on the list of dos.

Religion will not save you. Religion will not hold! It is time for the church to be set free from religion and simply live their lives as Jesus would. I used to say I was a red letter Christian. Maybe there is now some level of truth to it. I do believe wholeheartedly that the Bible is written by the inspiration of God. Therefore, I use it as a guide for my life. But if we took Jesus’ words and pondered them and lived by them, I think we would see many of us are anti-religion. Think of all the don’ts when it comes to hanging around sinners. Jesus did it. He hung around prostitutes, tax collectors, and adulteresses. The grumblings of the Pharisees with their list of Thou Shalt Not didn’t stop him from doing it. He did it anyway.

This morning I was reading about the sinful woman who brought the alabaster box of perfume and wept at the feet of Jesus and dried his tear stained feet with her hair. She then kissed his feet and anointed them with the costly perfume. Jesus was ridiculed by the Pharisees for letting such a woman even touch him. There it is! Don’t let a sinful woman touch you. Jesus called them on their ridiculousness by asking, Did you do it for me? No, they did not. What I love is even in her sin, she knew what needed to be done. The supposed “righteous ones” didn’t do it. The sinner did. God came to save the sinner. Anti-religion says I will sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to his words and bathe his feet with my tears because I know I have been forgiven much. Religion simply points out what is wrong with the woman, not recognizing the beauty of her heart.

Religion makes people quick to judge. Don’t have tattoos. Don’t dye your hair purple. Don’t pierce your body. Don’t play cards. Don’t dance. Don’t drink alcohol. Don’t hang around anyone who does any of the above.


The one “do” I know that takes care of every area of my life is this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).

I am happy to be party to blasting down the walls of religion. I was hurt by religion. My daughters have been hurt by religion. It is time to be built up by believers who have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Let’s stop the tearing down and build a strong foundation of relationship. One where Jesus is the cornerstone.