Joy in the Morning: A 6-Day Devotional by Tauren WellsPrimjer

DAY THREE | COME HOME

Part I

Scripture: Matthew 23:27-28, II Corinthians 3:4-6

The perpetrators of division

Are the casualties in the name of religion

So you think that you’d be safer from a distance

And won’t say it’s not true

I remember turning in the demo of my song “Come Home" to my label and getting an unexpected question back: “Is this, like, a deconstructionist idea or what?” At the time, I had no idea what the term “deconstructionist” meant. Maybe you’ve heard that term thrown around lately and been confused, too. Deconstruction is a growing trend in Christianity, especially in America, in which people who grew up going to church and identifying as Christians are beginning to “deconstruct” their belief system. For many, this means separating their religious convictions from any political or cultural baggage that often gets lumped in with being “a Christian.” For others, it means reevaluating their relationship with the church and other religious institutions. For some, it means giving up their relationship with God altogether. So you can see why I was puzzled by my label’s question. After a short, awkward pause I answered, “I think it’s more just about getting hurt by the church and speaking to the wounds caused by religion.” I would venture to say that the vast majority of individuals that have become disenchanted with church, religion, or faith have become so because of painful religious experiences that either sparked or confirmed their skepticism or that marred their genuine belief.

The purpose of the Gospel is to save sinful people, like you and me. Throughout history, the Gospel has saved billions of people, enabling them to shift their focus from selfish pursuits to becoming more like Jesus. Still, problems persist. The Holy Scriptures, which are always true and never-changing, get lived out by people who are inherently prone to error and inconsistency. Even people who claim to hold the same Biblical values can still profoundly disagree over how those values get applied in day-to-day life. In other words, a believer’s faith can be real but still have blind spots, both big and small, and if those blind spots aren’t dealt with, people can get hurt.

Even when our faith is genuine, there are still flaws in our thinking and gaps between our faith and our actions. These gaps may be small habits or ways of thinking that, although they may not cause great harm to others, are still areas that God is redeeming. If we aren’t surrendered to the Holy Spirit and taking the Word of God to heart in prayer, those seemingly small areas in need of refinement can become major places where sin, wrong thinking, and poorly framed perspectives take root; this can sabotage the work of God in us and, in effect, damage others.

Sometimes what started as a genuine relationship turns into religious ritualism that aids and abets our sin, wrong mindsets, and dysfunction. When this happens, those appearing to be Jesus-followers cease truly following Jesus. They call themselves Christians but don’t act like it. They harbor biases that they refuse to challenge. They push others out or down if they disagree with their interpretation of Scripture. Of course, this happening horizontally from peer to peer hurts significantly, but it’s worse when a person or group of people in a position of power hurts those under their religious authority. When our words and actions as self-proclaimed Christians don’t align with who Jesus called his people to be, our hypocrisy poisons the well from which the waters of religious practice are drawn. Now, when people come to taste and see if God is good, they are left with questions instead of certainty.

If the Bible is a double-edged sword, religion is a loaded gun. The faith of too many believers has been wounded or left lifeless by those ill-equipped to lead with grace, truth, love, and wisdom. I think it should be stated plainly: horrific things have been done in the name of God. Inexplicable wrongs have been justified during certain eras and by certain sects of the Christian faith. There is no denying that. As a Christian, owning that reality is the only path forward.

I know that you’ve seen

A Sin of hypocrisy

That’s the human condition

That’s not God’s heart beat

I’m Sorry