Religiosity

       Take any religion, and you will find a loyal group of followers willing to do as bidden by a priest, reverend, pastor, etc. There are "die-hards" who will die by their beliefs and refuse to change unless they be considered "as sinning or being damned to hell." Whether they believe in Mother Earth, Buddha, Mohammad, Joseph Smith, Allah, or the One TRUE GOD, GOD HIMSELF, these people are usually drowning in their "religiosity." You may wonder where I pulled out such a word, and yes, it does exist. Religiosity simply means "the quality of being religious, esp. of being excessively, ostentatiously (showy display) or mawkishly (nauseous or insipid) religious." In other words, being bound in this frame of mind is poisonous not only to yourself but to those around you. As a child, I used to wonder if I was in the "right religion," but I never asked because I knew the answer I'd be given. The thing is, I don't really believe that God wanted us to have all of these religions; all He wanted was for us to praise and glorify Him. He was our Creator, the One who breathed the breath of life into our lungs. The least we could do is acknowledge that and worship at His feet.
       I don't want to get off track here; all I want to express is that most people steeped in some kind of religion often lose track of why they do what they do. Is it to "show-off" -- to let everyone know you are "on the straight and narrow." The "look-at-me" syndrome is quite popular in religion of any kind. It isn't necessary to have what you are doing to be seen by man! It isn't really that important to do things for man either! I don't care if man has told you to do something, the most important aspect is to make sure it's God who is doing the talking, no matter the subject! I grew up in a Christian home. I often thought whatever I was taught was "the law." Most of the time, it was from the Bible, but then again, I never researched it for myself. I wasn't then nor am I now rebellious of anything I was taught. I just know now to research for myself and not take everything that is told to me stand as "the law." I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me, and He does a pretty good job of convicting me and telling me when something is off or if I need to change something in my life.
      In no way would I ever write this as a degrading subject towards my former or present teachers in my life. I only write this so we are aware of what we really are doing. Are we doing it because "the prophet said so" or "but my pastor said?" Or are we doing what we do because GOD said so, or HIS WORD spoke and it is so? That is the most important thing we could ever do. No, we aren't going to be perfect, but our God is forgiving and just. I am still learning this myself, and have not perfected it in anyway. I only know that my eyes are opened, and I will know the "hope of his calling."