At the start of each new year, there are a lot of conversations about recommitting ourselves to God.
We’re encouraged to have a daily quiet time, read through the Bible in a year, join a small group, volunteer at church, and the list goes on and on.
As I heard some of my friends talk about what they were doing to rededicate themselves to God, I felt some pressure.
I know I’m working on a D.Min. degree, leading Uncommon Pursuit, co-leading a Sunday community group, serving as Chair of the board for Creating Jobs, re-arranging my schedule for my kids, and attempting to practice the presence of God.
But still, shouldn’t I be doing more?
I feel guilty that I don’t read the Bible more, pray as often as others, volunteer as much as I could, and give more generously than we do. Even though I’m in “full-time” ministry, it seems like some Christians manage to work a demanding “secular” job and still do more for the Lord. Where’s my commitment?
As I’ve wrestled with this sense of spiritual inadequacy, I realized that I needed to work through a deeper question:
How religious should I be?
Let me pause: How would you answer this question? How much religious devotion should someone have?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this question is confusing.
Why? Because it conflates two separate issues: getting right with God and living wisely with God.
Simply by asking the question, “How much religious devotion does God expect of me?” sets us up to wonder how many spiritual rules we need to keep to stay on God’s good side.
But what happens when we react against this? We say, “I’m not a legalist! I live in freedom!”
Yet if we stop reading the Bible, going to church, and saying our prayers, how are we going to grow as disciples of Jesus?
So, we go back-and-forth between two extremes:
- God loves me, so I don’t have to do anything to please him
- God loves me, so I really should be reading the Bible more
In practice, we’re going around in circles. I think most of us do enough religion to not feel guilty, ashamed, or embarrassed.
Fundamentally, we’re wired to avoid pain. If our religious commitments are too burdensome, we back off. If we start to feel distant from God, we press in.
This is a universal struggle for Christians. We know our limitations, wrestle with our imperfections, and give in to many temptations.
But what if there’s a better way to approach this question?
Reading the Scriptures, I saw that the apostle Paul faced a similar question in the early church.
In the churches he founded in Galatia, other leaders had come in behind him and said, “Look, it’s great that you have turned from paganism to God. Now that you are worshipping the Messiah, you need to follow all his rules - not just the ones you find convenient.”
Makes sense, right? But what’s the #1 rule if you want to follow the entire Mosaic Law?
The marker of commitment to God was circumcision. Speaking candidly, that’s a big ask.
Still, these leaders had a strong argument: “Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Are you not willing to get circumcised to honor him? Yes, giving up pork might be difficult. But remember, you gave up your pagan gods to follow Christ. Honor God and give up pagan food!”
But the Apostle Paul denounces their arguments with the fiercest of rhetoric. He says they are turning to “a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6), deserving of a divine curse (Galatians 1:8-9, 3:10), acting like fools (Galatians 3:1) and spiritually enslaving themselves (Galatians 4:25).
So what’s his alternative?
He says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).
That’s the answer.
How much should you pray, go to church, or read the Bible?
You should be religious insofar as it is an expression of your faith in God working through love.
Paul explains it again: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another” (Galatians 5:14-15).
As Timothy George explains the sequence of God’s transformation in our lives, “We are justified by grace through faith, a faith that indeed is active in love leading to holiness” (New American Commentary).
The problem begins when we separate our lives into “sacred” and “spiritual.” Or “religious” and “non-religious.”
But the Christian perspective is a total revolution.
Now everything - whether it is ‘religion’ or not - is a matter of faith working through love.
Let me try to put it plainly:
Is an individual’s or community’s religious activity leading to spiritual competition? It’s opposed to the work of God.
Does a religious activity enable you to love God and your neighbor? Then keep it up! That’s God working in you.
Here’s the main point:
Whether you’re reading the Bible or listening to a PowerPoint presentation at work—the surface details may change—the inner life of a Christian — in every circumstance — is responding to God’s initiative with a faith that leads us to love.
So, how religious should you be? Ask yourself two diagnostic questions:
- Is this an expression of faith working through love?
- Will this way of connecting with God strengthen me to love God and others?
If the answer is no, then make a change. But if it is a yes, then keep going.
I hope this keeps you from running around in circles - and instead, to pursue with freedom, joy, and excitement the goal of imitating Christ.
Help Others
- But still, shouldn’t I be doing more? Do you feel this way? Share your perspective so others don’t feel alone in this struggle.
- Have you ever used religion to compete with others for social status? What was that like?
- Look at your current religious activities. Which ones pass the two diagnostic questions:
** Is this an expression of faith working through love?
** Will this strengthen me to love God and others? - Everything - religious or not - with God’s grace - can be “faith working through love.” What’s one area of your life (work, family, hobbies) where you could start seeing it this way?