Be Christian, Not Religious

I have had it said to me that as Christians we should avoid being called “religious” even if it means gently rebuking those who label Christians as “religious.” I had never really understood why this should be the case. Although I never went to great efforts to ask questions in order to gain an understanding.

It took an experience at work with a “religious Christian” as well as the acquisition, and multiple viewings, of Mark Driscoll’s “Burn Your Plastic Jesus” talk on DVD. Perhaps I had to experience being “religious” first hand to understand what it is.

I had a colleague at work that professed to be a Christian. This being the case I thought it would be fun to work with him, as we should both be on the same page. There was the possibility to have some positive conversations that would have been encouraging to each other in our respective walks with Jesus. Boy, how far from the truth could I have been?

There was a moment when instantly I not only realised we weren’t on the same page, we weren’t even in the same book. The instant came when he rebuked me for liking clever church signs. He went on to proclaim FM 1032 as offensive because it isn’t explicitly Christian. Later he went on to preach about the methods of baptism and why his church’s way is right for about twenty minutes. Any mention of Sunday activities would get knocked on the head with his strong belief in “keeping the Sabbath holy” whatever “holy” might mean to him. I could go on forever. He was all about the rules, meanwhile forgetting about Jesus.

Mark Driscoll touched being “religious and how it is very different to how we should view Jesus.

On Religion:

• Something you’re born into – Eg: Protestant, Catholic
• About what you do – Eg: Tithe, Pray, Mission
• If you obey God then he will love you
• Results in pride or despair – Pride – ticking the boxes, self righteous, worst sin of all; Despair – tried but not any good, walk away from church

On Jesus:

• Someone you are born into – Second birth is spiritual
• About what he has done – Dying on the cross
• Because He loves you, you will/should/can obey me
• Results in love

They are not just different, they are diametrically opposed!!

So when someone asks me am I religious, I can have an answer. Perhaps, “No, I’m a follower of Jesus!”

Discussion Question

In the interests of bicycle safety try this question on friends and family. I have and the results can be interesting

Which act on a bicycle is the more stupid?

1. Not wearing a helmet at all.
2. Having your helmet dangling on the handle bars.
3. Having your helmet on your head but not strapped on.

A Typical Premise

US pop sensation, Katie Perry, was on Channel 7’s Sunrise and The Morning Show this week. She performed her number 1 smash hit, “I Kissed A Girl”, on Sunrise and later on she had a chat to Larry and Kylie on the Morning Show.

She was introduced as the daughter of two church pastors and who started her singing career in gospel music. So of course Katie was probed with questions regarding her parents approval of what she is doing.

Kylie Gillies seemed especially surprised to hear that Katie’s parents are supportive of her in whatever she does. Her father even wanted to go to Mexico to see her perform at the up coming Latin Video Music Awards.

It’s as if Kylie expected Katie’s parents to disown her since she is singing pop music with somewhat risqué lyrics and with a dress sense that could be considered provocative, especially to the overly conservative.

It is very understandable for individual Christians not being fans of her music and her videos, even her dress sense. But for parents it is a different story.

How good is it to hear that two Christian leaders have not gone down the overly legalistic route. Instead they have chosen to support their daughter no matter what. Banishing her for her choice in music would have been the easy thing to do. Supporting and loving her despite her misgivings can be hard. Yet it is what God does for us every single day.

The conclusion that Kylie Gillies came to is a typical one in the wider community, especially in the media. That Christianity is all about rules that must be adhered to at all times. Even though some pockets of Christianity live up to this expectation it is still an ignorant view. They forget that all of us, even Christians, fall short of any set of rules.

That is of course why we need Jesus.

Our Fragile Roads

Some accidents recently have exposed how fragile our road system can be. One in particular on the southbound entrance to the harbour bridge created gridlock for morning peak that lasted a few hours.

We are quick to blame the state government. Why not when they provide such an easy target. For years they have under invested in infrastructure yet still manage to gain re election. They want to encourage us to use public transport when for many it provides no better an alternative. So it’s back to using private cars. They have shown a lack of foresight when making major motorways only 2 lanes when they could have made them bigger. See how easy it is to make a claim of finding fault in the state government.

Yet, at the end of the day where does the blame game get us? Nowhere, or stuck in more traffic. While it is easy to blame someone else, it is difficult to look inwardly and consider that perhaps we as individuals are contributing to the problem.

Our road rage is becoming an issue. It is being blamed on the road congestion. A bit rich don’t you think? Time to break the cycle and make individual choices. That is choosing to behave better on the road, no matter what the circumstance. Twice I have seen driver get out of their cars to accost drivers that had wronged them, even though the incident was very minor in the scheme of things. Nothing necessitates leaving their vehicle while stopped in traffic.

Road ragers are perpetuating the problem and need to drive in a more patient manner. Do this by:

• Leave space in front of you – yes other motorists will take advantage of this space but a simple easing off of the accelerator will maintain the gap. It’s called crash avoidance space for a reason
• Drive at a constant speed – not just good for the car but more comfortable to passengers and easier to stop if needed
• Keep lane changing to a minimum - we see alot of almost crashes when two cars are changing lanes
  
• Don’t answer the phone – if it’s so important then the caller will leave a message

Focus on the big picture. What is the rush? You may just be rushing to a premature death.

So forget about the government, what are you doing?