Worthless Religion: God is LOVE (Part 1)

“Worthless Religion?” Did the same person who writes about women in the Bible really write a blog called, “Worthless Religion?”

Yes.

A couple of months ago, I was doing my Bible study, and I came across a verse of scripture that I haven’t been able to shake. It wasn’t a new verse, yet I couldn’t get it out of my head. After listening to a sermon message by Bishop T.D. Jakes not long after, I realized that the question he posed for his congregation, coupled with this Bible verse, is exactly what I have wanted to discuss. In fact, it has become clear to me that this has been marinating in my heart for decades.

In the Book of James, it says, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless” (James 1:26 NIV). Talk about blunt, right? Bishop Jakes, while more tactful, is just as straightforward, as he poses a question in his sermon, “Making Peace with Your Past.” It is a question that needs to be pondered by all: “Did you learn this from your God?” This is not something that we should ask ourselves once, but it is one that we should ask ourselves every day.

​In Jakes’ sermon, he speaks about Olaudah Equiano, a young boy who was abducted and forced into slavery at the age of eleven years old. He and his sister were taken from their homeland of West Africa, and they were shipped to Europe where they were treated as less than human and sold as property. Equiano was beaten, persecuted, and ostracized as a slave in this new, foreign land. His abductors did ugly, despicable things to him, treating him as less than human, because of their prejudice and delusional elitist disposition.

“Did you learn this from your God” is a gut-wrenching question that plagues the minds of countless people who have been attacked, mistreated, abused, disregarded, ignored, and so much more, by individuals who claim to know and follow God.

How many of us, who claim to know, love, and follow God, are walking in the ways of God? Are we even attempting or trying to? Or do we, like many others, claim a relationship with God, while doing whatever we want to do?

“I don’t want to forgive that person.” “I don’t want to be nice to that person.” “I don’t want to give to them.” “I don’t want to help that person out.” “Why should I care about them?” “Do you know what they did to me?”

​Jakes asks, “Learn you this from your God?” In other words, “Does your God allow you to do this to me?” “Does your religion permit you to treat me this way?”

​“Your God allows you to hate me…to berate me…to degrade me…to enslave me? To betray me…to discriminate against me…to be prejudiced towards me…to judge me…to harm me? “Your God allows you to sit by idly while others attack me…to sit in silence while I’m treated unfairly…to ignore injustice…to use and abuse me…to act like you don’t see me?”

​This is NOT God, or religion; this IS sin.

1 John 4:16 says, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” So how can the actions of people who claim to know, love, and follow God be anything other than love? How can their words and actions cause others to question the Goodness of God?

With countless examples of people doing these things, while claiming to know and follow God, it’s no wonder that so many people find themselves turning their backs on not only religion, but on their Father in heaven. The saddest, most heartbreaking thing about this is that these actions were never brought on by God. Pastor Jason Hanaash says it like this, “You may love Jesus, but you’re not reflecting Him.” Pastor Touré Roberts says, “God’s priority is and will always be people,” and “to stand for God is to love people.”

From the most basic to the most extreme levels, we have all judged, condemned, or held on to an unwillingness to forgive at some point in our lives. As humans, we think we have a right to hate who we want to hate, judge who we want to judge, and condemn who we want to condemn. We feel comfortable in disliking who we dislike because in our minds, we’re right, and we feel justified. I’ve seen, heard, witnessed, and experienced this many times. Sadly, this behavior oftentimes continues to occur while we are proclaiming to know and love God, and yet, the Bible clearly says, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20 NIV).

I, myself, have felt justified in who I dislike, am mad at, or angry with at the time. I think, “The people I don’t like are rude, disrespectful, hateful, prejudiced, racist, abusive, or have no regard for human life,” but in the middle of me defending the reasons that I have “a right” to be angry at so and so, or to express my disgust and dislike, I hear, “Love and pray for your enemies.” I hear, “Everyone is good to those who are good to them. What does that say about you?” The true test of your heart is not how you treat those that are good to you, but how you respond to those who have wronged you.

Personally, I’ve always been inclined to support the underdog. If I felt someone was treated poorly or unjustly, that’s who I sought to defend. It’s been a process in learning to come to God to ask for His help to forgive the perpetrators (the ones victimizing those I sought to defend). Let me just say, this has not been easy for me to practice. I have to pray a LOT! Sometimes, my flesh wants to rip people apart when I hear, see, or read about the MANY awful things that happen in this world. My instinct is to be mad, to be enraged…to shun them, to not talk to them, or if I do talk to them, to be very mean and rude when I do. My instinct is to want nothing to do with them. I believe this is one of the main reasons why Jesus says, “With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26 NIV). It’s a daily battle, and I am thankful that I have God to help me, and to remind me, that He wants to help them and can change their hearts too. He reminds me that people are taught to hate, and oftentimes, the most critical, hateful people have their own histories, filled with abuse and trauma, where they, themselves, were once victims too. Hurt people hurt people. Not every victim repeats the cycle, but nearly every perpetrator was once a victim.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that a history of abuse is a justification for abusive behavior, and I know God doesn’t either. There is NO justification for abuse. What’s wrong is wrong, and what’s right is right. I don’t view these reminders from God as Him telling me to be okay with hurtful atrocities. I view it as a reminder to see past the words, actions, or behavior,and to pray for the lost soul that exists within that human vessel. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12 KJV).

Many of us have faced some horrendous, excruciatingly painful, seemingly unforgiveable things, and on our own, we could never forgive the things that they said or did, but by the Grace of God (His Power and Enablement), we can forgive. It may be slow. It may be a day-by-day process, where we force ourselves to forgive (dying to our flesh so our spirit can live), but love and forgiveness has always been more about ourselves than it has ever been about them, and when we practice this, God is pleased with how we live.

In my journey of practicing love, I’ve found myself not only praying for them, but for me. When I see someone being unkind to someone, it makes me incredibly angry and sad, and I’ve learned that not only do I need to pray for that individual to grow in kindness, compassion, and relationship with God, but that I must pray for help in releasing my own hurt, bitterness, anger, and offense towards that same person. What I’ve learned is this: God can empower you to move past your feelings, to pray for, to forgive, and in some cases, to even grow to like and/or love someone you once disliked. It’s not easy, or fun, trying to be the bigger person, walking humbly, and seeking the grace we need to forgive our enemies, BUT when we do this, there is always a blessing attached to it.

One of my favorite quotes is by Martin Luther King Jr. He says, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” It is so easy to be faced with hate and to want to respond with hate, but hate only produces more of the same, and the cycle remains. My daily challenge is to “disrupt the pattern,” as Iyanla Vanzant would say, and to respond with light because it’s the only way for things to change. To respond with hate is to perpetuate the cycle of pain.

​If there’s anything I can see in the ways, teachings, and example of Jesus Christ, it is love. Jesus did not judge, condemn, or throw rocks at the people that the Pharisees (a.k.a. the religious) believed that He should. In fact, it was the Pharisees who seemed to frustrate Jesus the most throughout the Bible. It was not the tax collector, the drunkard, the adulterer, the Samaritan woman, or the gentiles, even though they were the ones that the “religious” condemned and rejected. Jesus, on the other hand, did not throw one stone at them. However, many of the Pharisees were ready to throw their stones at Him.

Jesus did many things that upset them and placed Him on the receiving end of their judgment and condemnation. For example, the Bible repeatedly makes note of Jesus’ tendency to heal people on the Sabbath. Instead of reacting with praise, joy, or amazement at the miracle performed in front of their eyes, they pointed their finger at Him for breaking a “rule.” They cared more about rules than they did people, or love. In their eyes, Jesus broke a law, but in the Eyes of God, He fulfilled the most important commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with 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 22:36-40 NIV).

Loving and praying for those who are crucifying you is exactly what Jesus taught us to do when He hung from the cross and said, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.”​ He accepted, loved, and sacrificed Himself for us while we were covered in sin. He did not climb down from the cross when He saw that the closest ones to Him had denied, betrayed, and ran from Him. Instead, He asked God to forgive them (the ones who crucified and the ones who betrayed and left Him), and then, He proved that He was still willing to sacrifice Himself for ALL those who sin, who may and may not ever choose to love Him the way that He loved them.

I know what you’re thinking: “Well, I’m not Jesus”; “I’m not God”; “I can’t do what He did”; “I’m not perfect.” Well, if you claim to love God, that means you’re practicing His Ways: You’re practicing love, forgiveness, and grace each & every day. Every day, our goal should be to love. Anytime that we see that our words and actions are not lined up with His, we should pray for the grace to love as He did. God does it for us, and He is BIG and GOOD enough to help us to turn and do it for them.

​Who do you dislike? Who have you been looking down on? Who are you judging? Who have you condemned for their “sin?” Is it the homeless person? Is it the person you have labeled a disruption, thief, addict, or menace? Is it the prostitute, the pimp, or the “John?” Is it the drug dealer, drug user, or the person with a criminal background? Is it the alcoholic? Is it those who suffer with mental, psychological, or emotional challenges? Do you devalue or discriminate against those who aren’t like you (they don’t share the same skin pigmentation, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, social or economic class)? Do you consider another human to be inferior to you? Do you think that the people who are behind bars, in jail or prison, are unworthy? Do you judge the one who has a longer, or shorter, list of sexual partners than you do? Do you shame or condemn the woman who had an abortion, put their child up for adoption, or lost their child to the system? What about the adulterer and/or adulteress? How about the murderer? Or the religious hypocrite? Do you despise the wealthy or the poor? How about the group of people who support a different political party than you do? Or that customer, co-worker, manager, or boss you can’t stand? What about that friend that let you down, that family member who hurt you, or that significant other who betrayed you?

Are you sitting in self-righteous indignation and condemnation towards someone that Jesus would defend? Have you even tried to pray about it, or are you so confident in your belief that you don’t think to involve Jesus to ask Him what He thinks? Do you think He would co-sign your judgment of them, or would He instruct you to find compassion and offer the same forgiveness and love that you, yourself, have received and benefited from? Remember, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18 NIV). Don’t fall in your belief that you are somehow more righteous than the ones you are comparing yourself to. Sin is sin. Yours is just more palatable to you because you’re used to the taste of it.

In Jay Shetty’s book, Think Like a Monk, he says, “The senior monks reminded us that everyone had different sicknesses, everyone was still learning, and that, just as we would not judge anyone else’s health problems, we shouldn’t judge someone who sinned differently. Gauranga Das repeated this advice in brief metaphorical form that we often used to remind ourselves not to harbor negative thoughts toward others: Don’t judge someone with a different disease. Don’t expect anyone to be perfect. Don’t think you are perfect” (p. 27). In the sermon, “Delayed Gratification,” Bishop T.D. Jakes asks, “Why can you accept grace for your sin and be so offended at someone else’s?” He says, “You have no right to cut off someone’s ear because if they are going to get better, it’s going to come through what they hear.” “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17 KJV).

​In a courtroom, there’s only one judge. The jury offers their opinions and verdicts, but the judge has the final say, and he can overturn any verdict. As there is one judge in the courtroom, there is one judge of humanity. God is our judge, and He does not need our help, nor our opinions, in His decisions. He is the Truth, and He knows the whole Truth. He knows the beginning to the end. To those who offer their opinions, the Bible warns them to tread carefully, for the measure they use will be measured against them. Would you want the same sentence that you passed on them? Touré Roberts says that the literal meaning of the word, “devil,” is “the traducer.” The traducer is “the accuser,” and to traduce means to “speak badly about; to lie.”When you look over your words and actions, do they look more like the ways of God or the ways of the enemy?

If you find it hard to love, forgive, or to show compassion, then pray. Pray for God to help you to do so. You don’t know what they grew up with, the words that were spoken over or against them, or the wrongs they suffered. They may do, or have done, things that you don’t agree with, but if you’re honest with yourself, even you have done things, or are still doing, things that you know you shouldn’t be doing, or shouldn’t have done yourself. We are all guilty, so whenever you feel any kind of judgment, anger, bitterness, malice, or any kind of bad feelings towards anyone for any reason, pray. Don’t just pray for them, asking God to change their ways. Pray for yourself. Pray for God to fill your heart with compassion, understanding, and empathy for His son or daughter, and to help you forgive and love them the way God forgives and loves you. Pray for God to help you remove the plank from your own eye and to quiet your need to point out the speck in your brother or sister’s. Pray for God to give you the strength to love and forgive. We are ALL God’s children. Remember, God will leave the ninety-nine to go after the one (Matthew 18:12 NIV).

You may be thinking to yourself that you’re “not that bad.” Let me start by saying that my intention is not to condemn anyone, but to challenge each of us to love better and to strive higher in our pursuit to love like God does. None of us are perfect in love, but how much better would this world be if our pursuit was to love like Jesus loves? What if we let go of our stones because we realized that our own sins make us equally worthy of being stoned? What if we let the ONLY One who lived without sin be the One who makes those decisions (who chooses who to & who not to condemn)?

​God doesn’t need you to fix everything that you believe is wrong with His other children. He’s got that covered! Fixing yourself (your own sin) is enough of a lifelong process, and trust me when I say, you don’t need to add anything else to your plate! It’s gonna take up every ounce of energy you have just to take care of your own problems. God simply asks you to love; to let go of that stone in your hand (the one that you have absolutely ZERO right to carry anyway), and love.

How many people in your life would turn to God if you could get over yourself and choose to love them?

​What is love? In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, love is defined as the following: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” ​ ​

Instead of people asking despairingly, “Your God allows you to do this to me?” Our mission should be that they ask that same question in amazement: “Your God allows you to do this to me? To love me…to feed me…to offer me something to drink…to wash my feet…to sacrifice for me…to forgive me…to accept me…to be kind to me…to help me…to serve me…to encourage me…to visit me…to heal me…to befriend me…me? Someone like me?” People should be able to see, hear, and feel the way you treat them and say, “I want to know the God who enables you to speak to me like you speak to me, care for me like you care for me, treat me like you treat me, and love me like you love me.”

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’” (Matthew 25:34-40 NIV).

People don’t turn away from God because of who He is. It’s impossible to look at God and not be in complete awe and love with Him. If you don’t feel love when you look at God, you’re not looking at Him; You’re looking at other things. Maybe, you’re looking at religion, at people, or rules. It could be that you’re looking at your past, your pain, your heartbreak, or the brokenness of this world. But if your eyes are on Him, and you are seeing God for who He truly is, it’s impossible not to be filled with love and wonder for your Heavenly Father who loves you.

You are God’s beloved, and you were put on this earth to “be-loved” and to “be” “love.” I pray that we would all be a little more like love, and a little less like us.

https://youtu.be/fkYL1b7MCEw

Luke 6:27-36

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from who you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (NIV).

Written by Crystal Bryan