Being Religious

Donald Miller is one of my favorite authors, and Blue Like Jazz is one of my favorite books. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about something he says in the book. Miller writes,

"I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather to have us wasting time. That is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God" (13).

I guess I've been thinking of this lately because I often use the word "religious" to describe myself, and I think a lot of us do that. It's a sort of shorthand really, isn't it? It's sort of an easy way to explain what we are.

But really, it doesn't explain it at all.

Because if I were really to say what I am, the word "religious" wouldn't make any sense. I guess I do things that would be seen as religious. I pray; I read the Bible; I go to church. And yet, there is a reason I do those things, and the reason is not that I do them out of habit. I'm not wasting time by doing those things. I'm not saying prayers that have no purpose just because I feel I should be saying prayers or going to church on Sundays because I feel like I have to be there or reading my Bible because I feel compelled to out of guilt.

I pray because I want to, because I can think of no better way to know God, to seek His will for my life, to find the answers to life's problems, to ask for help and guidance. I read my Bible for many of the same reasons and also because I'm constantly amazed at how poetic it is, how I can sometimes read something in my Bible and just find myself completely surprised by how beautiful its words are. That book had been sitting in my home untouched for years. Why did it take me so long to open it up and really see what was inside? And, I go to church because I find some strength in seeing other people, often older people, still learning more about God, still seeking His word and His teachings.

So, I use the word "religious," but I don't really mean it. Quite honestly, I don't want to be religious. I don't want to go through motions for no reason or be so entrenched in ritual that I forget to find God within it. What I want is what I think we all want--for my heart to engage with God.