The Wolf of Religion

In Mt 7:17-20, Jesus warns his listeners to beware of false prophets, calling them wolves in sheep’s clothing who look harmless but are actually vicious.  It occurred to me the other night that religion is the same way.  From the outside, it looks so wonderful and convenient, like cheap fabric softener:  “Smells great!  Gets rid of static cling!” The box it comes in looks so good and makes lots of guarantees; but when you take it home and try to use it, your clothes look worse than they did before.

Religion makes so many promises:  “Jesus wants to be your friend.  Just ask him into your heart, and everything will be all better.”  There’s no talk of who Jesus really is, what he demands of his followers, of what the Bible says.  It’s all about making you feel better and painting Jesus' name on it.

So people fall for it and then wonder why their lives don’t change.  That’s when the wolf comes out. 

“Didn’t you say my life was going to get better if I said your prayer?  Nothing’s different.  I still don’t have money to pay my credit card bills and my kids are out of control and my mom has cancer. . . .”   “Now, don’t you go getting uppity with God.  He has his reasons for what he does.  You just sit and wait; maybe God will come through for you.  If not, don’t worry; it’ll be better on the other side.” 

Or they give you a formula to follow, and when it doesn’t work they tell you keep trying, keep going, your answer is just around the corner.   And you’re like a hamster who never gets off the wheel, exhausted but still going because you think if you go around just one more time. . . .

And the people who bought into the lie presented as Christianity end up the laughingstock of the world.  Guilt-ridden because they want a better life but think they have to settle; confused because they aren’t seeing anything that resembles the Bible; and angry because they got duped into a lie.   The world was telling them to work hard and make a better life for themselves and their children.  Then they got saved and were told to stop working—God's either not going to do anything in this life, or he’s going to do it all and you just have to sit and wait for it.

The fact is, God does come down and help his people.  He desires his people to be distinct in the earth in blessing and productivity.   But his people are the ones who have laid down everything—their will, their desires, their lives—to let him call the shots.   Religion doesn’t tell you that.  Religion tells you that you can stay the master of your own life and still claim his name over it.  And when it doesn’t work, it bares its teeth and tells you another lie.

Putting a wolf in lamb’s wool doesn’t make it a sheep.  Covering a tomb with whitewash doesn’t bring the contents to life.  And religion that doesn’t tell you to die to yourself , sacrifice, give, push, go, do—in other words, live like Jesus—isn’t what God calls Christianity.