Religion And Me

Every single person in this world has a belief system. When he aligns his beliefs with that of a group, he joins a religion. Each one of us has values, has goals, and has beliefs. Some people believe in one God, some people believe in no god, and some people believe in many gods. Whatever it is, that person holds to his beliefs. Beliefs are influenced by many factors.

In choosing a religion, you are faced with  your own beliefs-  does the culture and practices of this belief system suit me? Is the god of this religion someone whom I believe in? Every one of us is different and some people choose a religion because of its environment. The people who you gather with, the systems, the rituals, the laws, the customs, etc.  are something you can identify with and something you want to be a part of.

Each one of us has a different idea of "god" - what he is, what he isn't. Even atheists know what kind of god they do not believe in.  Each one of us as a personal "god" that we believe in, hold to, talk to, identify with. This god essential serves our needs and becomes something uniquely ours.

So today I am talking about this individual "god" that serves us, this religion that forms the backbone of our lives, what really is it? It is really *me*. Religion is something that I choose, that is convenient to me, that suits me. I like the community. I like its customs. I subscribe to concept of this deity. In the end, for each and every one of us.

Even the most sacrificial of observances yields benefits to us - the glories of other men. Religion is something of the flesh, where one may excel above others and lord other others, controlling them. Worship of a deity yields prosperity, blessing, etc. that would profit or exalt us in way.

Religion is something of the flesh. It can be exploited by the flesh for selfish purposes. Pride works its way into our hearts. Arrogance, and identification with what you believe to be right above what others believe to be right.

All men have beliefs and all the beliefs of man are inevitably selfish in nature. All the worship of man is really worship of self. Man creates a god in his own image to serve himself - a god or religion or belief system that suits him, justifies his lifestyle, enhances the satisfaction of his soul, or feeds his curiosity for the intangible. Religion feeds the soul - the cravings of the emotions, intellect, or will.

Religion serves me and it all about me.

But let us consider God apart from religion. Let us consider a Supremacy above us, unknown to us, and eternal. God is incumbered by man, man's selfish desires, the soul of men, the beliefs of men, and the religions of man. God is above all our religion. God does not belong to our religion. God does not belong to me. No man can have the sole monopoly of God.

God is free from us. God is wholly other, and eternal. Thus the immortal God is not restricted by the boxes of mortal man and his comfortable religion. Without you, and whether you like it or not, God exists and has power over everything.

Just imagine that concept - that there is a supreme authority above and beyond, greater than you, far more knowleageable than you, whole perspective covers all time, all matter, all space, and who can see through everything. Imagine that God can take in the universe at a glance and at the same time see everything about us - our thoughts, our motives, our intentions - and judges them according to what He believes is right. And because He is so powerful,  He is the one who decides what is right and what is wrong, and He decides right and wrong by His own perfect nature.

 Such a God is not concerned about man's culture and religion. I believe that we cannot claim God nor can we ever presume anything in His presence. Man is so small and so insignificant. His life is like a short burst that appears that vanishes away.

We cannot claim to know God. We cannot know God, unless He reveals Himself to us. We cannot discover God. We cannot touch God. But He can make Himself known to us.

Unless God chooses to encounter us, unless God chooses to make Himself known to us, we are very well ignorant. But no man has an excuse to be ignorant, because the invisible attributes, a revelation of God, is very present to us through nature. And without God, we cannot exist. We can live in ignorance of God, and in that sense without God, but truly without God we cannot live. God commands our attention because He controls what we cannot control - for example the weather.

God sees through all the hypocrisy of man's piety and selfishness of man's devotion. He's just not looking for men to deify him through a religion, men who offer chants, praises, songs or prayers of incense to him. He's looking for men who would serve Him and not themselves.

When I encountered God, I knew that He was a God who, though He owes nothing to men, went 100% out of his way for man. And I knew that this was the God who demands our 100%. God doesn't want our religion. He just wants us to do what He says, and it's really for our good.

God does not and never will fit into our belief systems, our culture, and our religion. We cannot develop a religion around God nor can we claim  Him as our exclusive God - that makes God subservient to us. Nothing we can claim of God nor expect of God except what He says and His promises, and His Word is very good (in the legal sense). And we have no right to demand God's promises but it for Him to make.

I don't seek God for me. I don't create a "god" to serve me. God exists very  well without me. There's really nothing in this following of God for me all at - not even the praises of men. God breaks our mindsets and challenges our expectation. God upsets our life. God makes demands, demands that make no sense to us and cannot be reconciled with any religion because religion is convenient. All religion is worship of convenience and all worship is a worship of self. The "god" in all religion is really "me".

God is not convenient at all. God does not suit me, and is not easily understood by me. God is God, above me.

A "god" that I can prove is an idol. God, however, needs no one to prove Him.