i have been exposed to some comments lately. some of them were in conversations i have had and some are just things i have seen people post on social media. they have been about God, and they were comments made by people that aren’t really into God. that is a weird statement i know. into God? can you be in to a certain degree? i mean… either you believe there is a god or you don’t. the ramifications of either side of the argument are HUGE. i think most people do not understand the stance they are taking by believing or not believing. but that is another blog.

if you DO believe… well then you must understand that your words and actions are not without consequence. you would live life with a LOT more incentive. is this you?

if you don’t believe… this one is tricky. if there is no entity to set the standards in your life (morals, values, etc.) then how do you justify your actions? your values? your value? why do you have any morals or regard for others? 

i don’t want to get too deep into this. that would pretty much avoid my real point. what i am getting at is people who “try” religion.

what exactly are you trying? let’s use Christianity as an example (mostly cuz that is what i know the most about, and that is what one of the comments was directed at)

the common misconception is that a thing like Christianity is a social club. maybe some religions are, but Christianity is not supposed to be that way. and yet it is. i will explain.

if i am a batavian (which i am), then i am of batavia. i am not a batavian if i hang with people who are from batavia.

i am a christian. the term “christian” was given to people who followed and emulated Jesus the Christ. so if one was to “try” christianity, one would NEED to know what Jesus was all about.

this is easy info to access.

we have about 3 years of recorded data on the life and death of Jesus. you can read all the stuff that he said and was said about him, or you can look at one little statement (biggest statement he ever made with few words).

what is IT all about?

He summed IT all up: Love God, and care for (love) your neighbors the same way you care for yourself.

So then… being a christian is to be like Christ, and that equals loving God and loving people. you might want to find out how to do that, but i think most people know how to love. if you know how you want to be loved then you know how to love. most people are not good at it but they at least know what is expected.

so if you are treated a certain way by a group of people who claim to be christian, but do not love you, well then… are they christians? perhaps. maybe they are just a bit self centered as we all are and are trying to mature and prioritize their “neighbors”. honestly… most people need to learn how to love. it takes practice because it takes fearlessness.

but my REALLY REAL point is that christianity is between you and Jesus. so you cannot say you tried it and didn’t like it based on the behavior of others. YOU are the one seeking to emulate the One who told us to love God and others. you cannot say it didn’t work for you, because YOU are the one with the work to do. 

Christianity is not a club in that you join and then receive benefits. YOU provide the benefits to those around you. if you are not receiving the benefits (love) then you need to keep loving and find others who are better at it than the ones you were associated with. but it’s still on you. 

whether you are or are not a christian is completely based on whether you love or do not love God and others. 

sadly… if you belong to a group of people who are simply charged with loving others, then you should be well loved. often this is not the case. like i said… loving takes practice. many people don’t try hard and never achieve any level of proficiency.

what about you?

my very last analogy… it is like joining a gym and then claiming the gym and the people in the gym did not work for you. 

i hope this is clear. i would be happy to elaborate on any part of this, written or implied.

JB