Who Are We… Really?

Was man created for religion or was religion created for man? This is not a trick question. I’m not dissing anybody’s belief system. I have an observation that may sound strange.

A lot of religions (versions of my own belief system included) make a big list of dos and don’ts and gauntlets that are nearly impossible to run without failure. Basically, they set people up to fall and grovel and feel badly about themselves. Yes, there can be good rules to follow along with the weird ones. Feeding the hungry is good. Helping your neighbour is good. Let’s not throw those ideas away.

The issue is this. Religion often complicates what ought to be a simple connection between a man/woman and his/her God. I have a bone to pick with that. So did Jesus. He fashioned a whip and cleaned house to prove his point one day. Funny how nobody likes to talk about that incident when they point out Jesus’ kindness and compassion. Jesus didn’t like it when people, in the name of religion, put up obstacles between ordinary people and God.

If he didn’t like it, it’s okay if I don’t like it… and I don’t. I have had my fill of that. No. I’m not against attending church. I know that accusation will come faster than you can say ‘heretic’. The church isn’t the building anyway. I know we call them churches, but the church is the people. Two or ten or a hundred or ten thousand people meeting can be church. It can be in a cathedral or a coffee shop or a back yard. It is still church because it’s all about the people, not the structure.

I think the cart has been in front of the horse long enough. For those of us who subscribe to a belief in God’s existence, it’s time to realize who we are… really! We are made in God’s image. We were redeemed to our original estate by Jesus Christ. If that is so, then it is time to stop allowing religious ideologies to tell us that we are beggars, worthless and groveling beings that don’t deserve to exist. That flies in the face of what God says in his word.

We are called sons and daughters of God and co-labourers with Jesus and a whole host of honourable things that is so far removed from what religion says about us that I have come to the conclusion that these two differing viewpoints can no longer exist within me. One of them has got to go. Guess which idea I’m turfing? That’s right. I refuse to be the worthless, witless worm any longer, and so can you.

Religion says “you’re not worthy”. God says “I made you worthy.” Religion says, “you’re not valuable”. God says, “You are priceless and worth what I paid to free you.” Religion urges us to grovel and cower and feel ashamed, and then it calls it humility. Really, that is as far from humility as you can get.

Real humility is awed by the fact that you and I have been esteemed so very highly by a loving, great God. To say otherwise is actually to call God a liar and to reject what he says about us. I know it feels right to grovel sometimes. Religion has trained us as surely as Pavlov’s dogs were trained to salivate whenever we are told that we are ‘worthless sinners’.

But, we are not worthless. Would God himself have sent a member of the Trinity to inhabit one of the bodies he created and live here and then give himself for something worthless? He did not see us that way. He thought we were worth that price. He saw (and continues to see) us as valuable treasures to be redeemed at the highest cost. Jesus wasn’t begrudgingly coming down here to go to the cross. He thought it was a good idea and was totally willing to do it.

So… head up. Let the worthlessness that religion vomited all over you just go away. You have such value and so do I. Our value does not change if we have a bad day. You can muddy up a hundred dollar bill as much as you like… it’s still going to be worth a hundred dollars.

Was man made for religion or religion for man? It was God’s idea (and still is) to train us to have responsibility and authority for helping him run things. He gave this planet to us and we did screw up, but it’s not over yet. We have work to do. We get to make it right by cooperating with God… if we want to, but religion will not allow us to do that so long as we buy into its cheap fake humility and worthless worm lie.

The answer… religion was made for man. It was made to serve man. Why are we serving and bowing to it? Pure religion, according to God is pretty simple. Go help orphans and widows and steer clear of the greedy world system that says every man for himself. So… I’m not saying you can’t have church or any religious things. I’m just saying.. . it’s time to stop worshiping religion and put it in its place, and if there are any areas where it does not serve us like it was created to do, change the rules or turf it.

Who are we… really? We are much more than a bunch of unattainable rules and complicated doctrines. We are God’s masterpieces, created for good works in Christ. We are made in his image. We are absolutely priceless in his eyes. That’s my story (and yours too) and I’m sticking to it.

The Curious Story of the Floodwater Pants

The story goes like this. I found a lovely pair of jeans at a thrift shop. They were in such good shape, I wondered if anyone had ever worn them. A rich dark blue with sparkly patterns on the pocket sold me on them and the kicker was I wouldn’t even have to hem them. I am five feet tall – seriously hobbit-like. So finding any pair of pants (or dress or skirt) that I don’t have to adjust in length is reason to celebrate.

Off I trotted home with a smile on my face. This particular pair was nice enough to wear on casual Friday at work. I scored!

Casual Ftiday came and I looked forward to wearing these new to me jeans to the office. Imagine my horror – oh yes – the absolute terror of discovering that I had invested in a pair of floodwater pants. Oh no! What had I done?

Floodwater pants are pants that are a little too short. When I was in school, anyone who wore those pants was called Noah and the follow-up to that nickname would be, ‘Are you expecting a flood?’ Get it? This was how we teased people with their pants too high off the ground. We never said anything when they were wearing shorts. Our ‘genius’ never thought that far ahead.

Anyway, here I was with a pair of jeans that had been owned by a woman with shorter legs than mine. That in itself was a wonder, but the problem was I was embarrassed to wear the floodwater pants. I loved them, but I thought the only way to salvage the situation would be to cut them and hem them and turn them into capri pants/clam diggers/whatever you want to call them.

My weird adventure wasn’t over. I was out Easter shopping for the grandkids and as I wandered through the mall – not shopping for me, but I saw the word sale – I went into Reitmans, the women’s clothing store that I used to love when I was younger. As I was poking around in there, you will never guess what I saw.

Are you ready for it? There was this big sign announcing the hottest trend for spring. They called them… haha… ankle jeans. Ankle jeans! Do you know what ankle jeans are? They are… drum roll… floodwater pants. Yes, I kid you not! This smiling model was standing there in a photo sporting trendy and expensive floodwater pants and nobody was teasing her and she wasn’t even embarrassed. Every kid that ever got teased in school Is either sighing with relief or shaking a fist in outrage.

The point of my silly true story is this: never judge your whole life by something negative that happens to you. Don’t throw in the towel even though you may feel like it. Don’t entertain thoughts that life is not worth living because of your circumstances.

A situation can flip the other way at the snap of a finger. It can change in five minutes or in one day or sometimes in a succession of days or weeks. It changes! You can’t see that from here. None of us are privy to what is just around the corner and because we can’t see that, sometimes a thought comes that this is all there is and all there ever will be.

The adventure of my embarrassing floodwater pants turned hot and trendy ankle jeans is a silly little story, but it illustrates the point. Something happens and you think life is always going to be one way. You think that some bad thing that happened to you is going to define your whole life.

But it does not! I don’t care what the situation is. I’ve experienced and witnessed some pretty bad things. I’ve had circumstances beyond my control that would seriously curl your hair. The cloud hung over my head for a time, but then… it flipped! Something changed. Often, something sudden happened as a catalyst for that and then I would see things start to shift and turn a whole different direction.

Yes, there were times when I wanted to give up. I confess with all transparency that there were times in my life when I did not want to keep living. Pushing through that junk took some doing. I prayed through it, told my own thoughts to stop that and on occasion, sought help from a friend or counselor. Today, I can tell you, I’m grateful to have made it through. I’m glad I didn’t have the option of asking a doctor to help me kill myself (allowing depressed people that option is irresponsible).

Life is good. It’s not a cake walk, but it’s good. Please hold on and fight for your right to peace of mind, joy, hope , love and freedom from the torment of despair.

You never know. The floodwater pants that you don’t want to wear today may become the hot trendy ankle pants of tomorrow. So don’t give up, okay? The world is better with you in it. Don’t roll your eyes at me. It really is. You are supposed to be here.

The Process is the Thing

‘Religion’ says that a person has to be perfect in order to achieve salvation or enlightenment or nirvana or whatever that particular religion considers as its goal. They’re all the same in that regard. Human beings must run a gauntlet to get eternal life or whatever.

In my personal journey with God, and it is a personal journey for anyone who engages with him, I have discovered something that freed me from the endless cycle of trying, failing and beating myself up over it. I want to be a ‘good’ person. I want to do what’s right, but there are aspects of my personality that still have negative habits or traits.

I get impatient in the checkout line at Walmart. I can be grumpy if I don’t get enough sleep. Bad thoughts come flying into my head and it takes some effort to boot those things out. I used to get so down on myself when I failed in any area. I wouldn’t rejoice with similar fervor when I succeeded or grew in a positive way, but whoa nelly! I was ready to whack myself upside the head at the slightest failure or even perceived failure.

The truth is… God likes the process. He knows that we learn more and are more satisfied with our progress when it comes in increments instead of all at one time. There are times when we take a big leap forward. Sure there are. I personally know people who were instantly freed from addictions by God or they had a breakthrough and a hate or anger issue they were having instantly disappeared and they didn’t struggle with it anymore. So that does happen and it’s amazing when it does.

There is an art and a beauty to the process though. Something beautiful happens when a human life journeys from the place of futility, unhappiness and inner turmoil to purpose, joy and peace. I can look back at the tapestry of my life and see how far I’ve come, and I have grown and progressed so much. It’s important to recognize and to celebrate that. Yes, there are still areas of my being that God and I are working on. I’m learning. Negative thought patterns and habits drop off and positive thought patterns and habits are added to the work of art that is me.

I see God’s joy in the process. I see it like an artist painting a masterpiece. If the canvas went from blank to finished in five minutes, where would be the pleasure in that? The artist may have times of frustration while working on that painting. Believe me, I know they do. I have friends who paint professionally and they have moments of angst. The process, though, is what makes it so much more satisfying to see the completed, stunningly beautiful masterpiece that is created in the end.

As a writer, I too can get bogged down in the middle of writing a novel or a play or a song. It’s a lot of work. Parts of it have to be edited out. Missing things must be added in. I have to go over every area of that story with a critical and skilled eye. The process is what makes the completion of the story so gratifying. I know how much work went into it and I know I have done good work.

This applies to anything: a craftsman creating a beautiful piece of furniture; a dancer choreographing and learning the steps to a new routine; a gardener envisioning and creating a masterful outdoor scene; an architect going from blueprint to finished building. Choose your own metaphor. They all fit. The process of going from nothing to completion is the thing that brings us joy. We wouldn’t appreciate what we create so much if there were no work or process involved.

That is the way it is with us. We are works in progress. We are divine masterpieces. When we yield to the Master’s able hand, he sets to work changing what needs to be changed, improving what needs improving, bringing out the beauty that he knows is there. He is meticulous about it. He rejoices with us at every hurdle we overcome. He applauds every inch of progress we make.

He helps us back to our feet when we fall. He encourages us that things will get better when we fail. He already sees the finished masterpiece in his mind. He knows who we really are and what we are going to look like when the work is done.

So… if you are anything like I was (and still can be at times), stop beating yourself up so much. It’s not a big surprise to God that you still have areas of your life where you struggle. He knows it. He’s working on it. He had no delusions of your perfection in the first place. Just agree to walk with him and yield to the process because… the process is the thing.