If you’ve ever heard the term “I’m spiritual, but not religious,” you’ve probably at some point wondered whether organized religion encumbers people’s spiritual lives by interfering with the individual’s Christian walk.  And this is a normal thing to ask.  After all, it’s absolutely true that God interacts with individuals in individual ways.

But if God proves himself through personal interaction to be morally and doctrinally inconsistent, this makes God out to be either a liar or incapable of determining truth for Himself.  Either way represents a lack of the qualities necessary to make Him worthy of ultimate righteousness and thus respect.  That, or people are talking to themselves.

So if it must be that God interacts with humans in a consistent manner, religion would be the result of many humans being impacted by Him, and interacting because of His divine revelations.  Different stances may be taken on those revelations from His word, but this doesn’t affect whether the message–with an actual intent–was actually given, if in fact it was given.

A wise man once said that religion is what happens when more than one person decides to worship God at the same time: they must determine how to communally express their divine nature in a manner that is consistent, so as to reduce confusion and promote a stable atmosphere.  After all, if all sins are relational and righteousness is order that protects from sin, then structure is necessary to facilitate cohesive spiritual gatherings by decreasing contention.  And what’s wrong with that?  Whenever you have more than one person gathering together for any purpose, proper behavior is specified or implied to maintain harmony, so why wouldn’t you apply standards when organizing with the intention of worshiping the God of righteousness and order?

As such, the Christian “religion” may engender different superficial qualities and even theological interpretations throughout the body of Christ, but if all are honest with themselves and God–seeking His truth and His will above all else (including that we love one another)–then truth and cohesion will result. It would be silly to assume for even a second that false interpretations and/or a lack of scholarly knowledge due to laziness would imply that Christ’s message is impossible to understand.

As such, it could be said that a refusal to accept truth could result in a person being turned off to “religion,” when they actually mean they are opposed to the teachings of Christ as they apply to interpersonal interaction.  This is actually rebellious individuality taken to its most illogical and harmful extreme, not “spirituality,” not “progressive,” and not “enlightened.” Unless of course you believe that God has only interacted with you throughout the course of human history.

So take the time to explain this to people, as we’re all in different stages of spiritual development and receiving spiritual truths [1] line upon line, precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:9-10).  Our core value should be love, having the patience to put up with others despite their imperfections, yet strong enough to encourage them to read the Word and direct them lovingly toward ultimate truth when they make mistakes.  What a tightrope to walk.

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take strong stances, though.  When any person embraces a teaching that fortifies sin while devaluing the importance of righteousness within the church, [2] we have been commanded to not even eat with such a person (1 corinthians 5:9-13).  Sexual sins (not to pick on just homosexuals, but also “regular old fornicators” and the lustful) are particularly mentioned in the Pauline epistles, and we should be wary of those who advocate licencious behavior as a result of their liberty in Christ, even to the point of excommunicating them.

But we’re not perfect, and luckily for us the good news is that in the world of Christianity, you don’t have to change yourself.  [3] Christ will change you as He’s changed all His true followers, patiently molding our characters into His own through His perseverance and love for us, even when we don’t deserve it (2 corinthians 3:7-18).  The recipient of transformation [4] must first willingly cede their life to Christ and ask for direction, though, and Christians need to remember that not everyone who walks in the church doors is going to actually follow Christ (John 15:1-8).  Many are called [5] but few are chosen, and because of this the church will experience corruption (Matthew 22:1-14).

It should also be noted that as humans, there will never be worldwide consensus on every truth presented in the Bible.  But ultimately–regardless of interpretation or outright refusal to accept truths due to personal motivations–God meant what he meant when he meant it, and we must agree that the Bible is the infallible word of God.  At the end of time, you had better believe there will be consensus, because your salvation depends upon it.  So pray [6] for the Holy Spirit to convict you of truth, and be honest with yourself in all things (John 14:15-18).  He will teach you when you are ready to learn.

In short, religion isn’t an abomination to be discarded because it encumbers our spiritual experience.  We need to maintain spiritual fellowship with others who love and follow Christ, and we have to agree on how to do it.  The two simply cannot be separated, and those proclaiming discipleship should be careful that in their search for spirituality, they are not elevating themselves to that status of God in order to maintain autonomy from spiritual truths and spiritual authority.

May He bless you all this day.