Forty Days Full - An Invitation To Real Life

Day Twenty: Religion

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” ( Genesis 3:7 NIV)

I f we are honest with ourselves, it is very evident that humanity is lacking in moral fiber. A common excuse for our shortcomings is, "I'm only human!" In other words, mankind is bound to fall short. Even in pop culture our descriptions of being human include, inconsistencies and unpredictability. Any study of human history reveals wars, abuse of power, racism and repetitive conflict. The nightly news confirms man’s propensity to misbehave. Yes, there are also good things in our history. But our track record is far from stellar… Religion is man's effort to amend these deficiencies. The beginnings of religion started as soon as we experienced our first failure. Adam and Eve seeing they were naked sought by their own efforts to make a good showing. This is what manmade religion looks like. We think God will be impressed with our efforts. But just like a swimsuit made with leaves would have no durability, these manmade efforts always fall short. Even today, we often think that if I look good on the outside, then we are good. Jesus confronted religious people, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25 NIV) His ministry to the world started with one of the most religious cultures ever. They truly thought they were better than every other race on the