I DON'T LIKE RELIGION

One of my least favorite words in the universe? Religion. Go ahead and pick your jaw back up, i'm serious. It's not 'religion' in itself that i'm not a fan of, I just REALLY don't like the word.

www.dictionary.com defines religion as a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects. Awesome. But what does that really mean? A set of beliefs agreed upon by a number of persons? I know a ton of people who believe that Lebron James is the greatest basketball player/person alive. Does that make him a religion? What about starbucks? Hollister? Going green? What REALLY makes something a religion? I just feel like it's too broad. It confuses people. It makes people argue and manipulate and stereotype. Most people see others who say they are 'religious' yet are doing the same things they are and don't even understand what religion is. THAT'S why I don't like the word religion. It's abused, misused and misunderstood.

I've said it a hundred times and i'll say it a thousand more: i'm an observer. I observe every single person, place and situation in my life. I like to analyze the way people act and talk and treat eachother. I like to listen to people and give advice. I like to talk with people and get to the root of the situation, because that's what matters: the root. So, i've dug down to the root of religion and I like the root of it a whole lot more than i like the entire thing.

As I mentioned before, the word religion is pretty broad. Therefore, the root of your religion is pretty much the person/place/idea that holds the most focus and admiration from its people. From a christian perspective, God is the root of our religion. But that's pretty obvious and would cause for a very unthoughtful blog, so you know I didn't stop there. I dug all the way back to elementary english and found the root word. Oh yeah, you know what i'm talking about. The base. The core. The word that makes it mean something. You know what the root word of religion is? RELATIONSHIP.

That's right, relationship. And all of you english majors out there who want to correct me saying that you can't have a root word that is longer than the main word...just back up off it, alright? In this instance, you can.

Seriously though, I absolutely 100% LOVE having conversations with people about life and love and God and anything that you would ever want to chat about. [Hit me up, we'll grab some ice cream.] There have been so many times when i've talked to people, of all ages and lifestyles, and they are so lost in their 'religion' because they don't know what to do. They don't know what they do or should believe. They don't know what denomination they should follow or how to get back on the right path. It breaks my heart when someone says that they aren't religious because they don't know how to be. My advice to every single person who is lost or confused or scared: worry more about your relationship than your religion.

Religions can change. They can be misconstrued and misunderstood. But your relationship with God is so incredibly important to your future. You can go to church and volunteer at the soup kitchen and memorize bible verses and be the most religious person in your circle of friends, but if you don't have a relationship with God...it honestly doesn't matter. Yes, you should do good things. Yes, you should go to church and help out your neighbors. You need to do things that are considered religious. But your main focus needs to be on falling in love with Jesus Christ. Don't be scared of 'religion'. Don't swear off a relationship with God just because you think 'church people' are clique-y and stereotypical. Stop letting the world get in the way. Give the devil a roundhouse kick to the jawbone by developing a relationship with the King of Kings.

Even if you don't have a 'religion', you can still have a relationship. God loves you. He wants you. He's trying to meet you more than halfway...but you have to step onto the bridge. I am praying for you. I'm praying for your heart and your soul and your relationship with the love of my life. I love you.




peaceandlove<3