My Issues With The Church
For a long time, I had an issue with the church.
… and people who preached Christianity. Pastors, elders, popes, priests, congregations, choir members, even instrumentalists. I thought they were all phony. And I was upset because I was being forced to sit with them and watch them be hypocrites.
My issue was that first off, the message they preached made no sense (I was young). Every pastor had their own interpretation of the same concept. How did that work? I didn’t understand the parables. They were ambiguous messages, unnecessarily cryptic. They made no sense. And why didn’t God just get rid of Satan in the first place? Also, how did Satan get into the garden if it was so perfect?
The only thing I would see when I walked into a church was a bunch of people in cahoots — everyone supporting and encouraging all the lies; whether they were sitting and nodding or standing and singing, I saw them all as dishonest and disillusioned.
As far as I was concerned, Christianity was a bunch of loose theories based on fantastic stories of creation and a mythical savior. It was all very entertaining, but it became a bit retarded when people started taking it too seriously. Like telling me I had to be in church when my friends were out on a Saturday or making me dress in a particular and slightly odd kind of way.
I figured I was the smart one, I didn’t believe or want to believe any of it. I straightened my dresses and stood for hymns and sat stiffly through sermons in church but if you’d asked me, there was nothing to believe.
Now truthfully, a large part of my mentality came from the kind of people I saw as Christians around me. I found them hypocritical, judgmental, selfish, greedy, self-centered. It was as though the worst of humanity had come together and decided to validate their wickedness with a tradition of going to church. They were wicked on weekdays and God-fearing on the weekend. I hated it all. Can you taste the bitterness?
But as I spent my time angry, I built years and years of resistance to anything God related — until I was walking around telling people I was an atheist. My antipathy to Christianity was like a shell around me. I wore it proudly, as a protective shield. It made me feel that I was superior and intelligent. I remember on one occasion. I sat with two friends and presented my case. I was young and edgy. They were in their late 20’s and eager to tolerate me. They had experienced life but here was something new: a contrarian from a younger generation. I fascinated them.
I saw their reactions when I said very confidently: “I don’t believe there is a God.” They almost flinched. It was like watching a horror movie and only barely closing your eyes for the gory parts.
The fact that I’m so convinced there is a God now is reason enough for anyone else to go to the Bible and try to find the truth for themselves. Because the truth is in there, and if you look for it it will show itself to you.
The message of Christianity — the truth, the gospel, the fact that Jesus came to save us from ourselves and from our sins; is something that is independent of the people who preach it. It’s something that’s independent of the things that you DO.
Salvation is what the truth is; you have been saved. Christianity is for you whether you go to church or not, whether you know all the hymns or sing the loudest or do the most work — whether or not you go to the perfect church.
The Martha and Mary Story
Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem when they stopped off at Mary and Martha’s house. Martha went into the kitchen and started preparing a big feast to honour Jesus, while Mary sat with Jesus listening to him talk.
I can just see myself in Martha, getting caught up in all the cooking, cleaning, arranging and serving that got her so worked up.
Martha was frustrated with all the work and came out of the kitchen.
“Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
Luke 10:41–42
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
It’s an interesting story, and there are probably a lot of things you can take out of it; but what I see here is that what Jesus has to teach you, the things he came here to show us and tell us — are far more important than any other concern. Martha was so caught up in the process of her life and her obligations as the woman of a household that she ran around while Mary sat and just listened to Jesus talk.
I spent so much time being frustrated with the details of Christianity that I got lost in the whole mess. I was there thinking — if they’re going to do it why don’t they do it right? I hated the system, I hated the confusion, I hated the whole mess.
And while I was hating, the gospel-the truth was sitting there waiting for me. You are saved. Everyone is saved. You can have happiness in your life; true joy. Nothing matters more than the message the gospel has for you.
When I finally understood the message, the scenario wasn’t perfect. I was in my room on my knees, overwhelmed and frustrated with everything going on around me. The moment I gave my life to God and felt saved, it wasn’t because I’d found the perfect church or religion; it was because I’d learned to listen and I’d let myself be taught.
Mary knew what it was about.
