Why Christianity Is Failing

The Church – Poem 
(Not at all directed towards my church; it is filled with great people)

Welcome to our church.

Here we make it our number one priority to make sure you can praise God!

We never want you to feel odd,

so we give you the same message that tells you all about our loving God!

After all, God is Love, right?

Here at our church we sing songs about His love all the time, so take a deep breath!

And we won't judge you, because we don't even know who our pastor sleeps with.

Here at our church, you can leave feeling happy without any spiritual affliction.

Just make sure to put on your church face when you're here, we don't want to see your porn addiction.

Here at our church we have the greatest youth group!

Oh and don't mind the sniffing in the bathroom,

they're just kids! They'll grow out of that phase soon.

See our church really isn't a church at all,

it's a spiritual tomb.

I guess if God's the groom, and we're the bride,

we're secretly a prostitute to this world living a lie.

Cheating on God with money and the cheap pleasures that arrive.

But my oh my look how we've grown,

we've got a large band now just to drowned out the heartless groans.

Our church is the best.

Come be our next guest as we strive for success.

You'll never have to leave the nest.

Because God is medicine, there should be no pain!

On the outside of that church is love tattooed with a red stain.

But on the inside is a lust far greater than that, filled with money, sex, and fame.

               So if God is willing and Able, I guess that makes this church, Cain.   

  

     Let's jump right into this. Today’s church isn’t what it should be. Pastors don't act like they should. The congregation is hanging on by a thread. And heck, a lot of the times our comfort becomes a bigger issue than how we are going to reach the outside world. Why is this? Sometimes the answer is so simple that it is complex. We completely dedicate our lives to making our image look better instead of realizing that the reason we hate ourselves so much is because the problems we are struggling with on the inside are being ignored. What are these problems exactly? It's the sin nature we so enjoy. It is the "harmless" things we partake in every day. We don't even realize they are transforming us away from the image of God. In fact, the moment we were born we were given the task to fight our fleshly desires. This is where I got the catchphrase "Freedom From Myself".

      My whole mindset of finding “freedom from myself” starts with taking an in-depth and personal look at my own heart. It isn’t just a phrase, for me it’s something I have to think about everyday. I know that people have come up with catchy slogans to live by before, so that’s not my point. It is a mindset that I always have. Many people, even in the church, feel depressed, broken, and worthless because they are caught in sin and feel a thousand miles away from God.

     We are in a constant battle with ourselves. We as humans love to be selfish. We as humans love to be able to attain anything we want. We as humans love ourselves.

We as God’s children hate all of that.

Our soul longs for something deeper than what we can find on our own. The desires of the flesh get in the way of finding the true joy found in Jesus Christ. Fighting for freedom from myself means I am challenging my sinful side. My evil twin, if you will. That evil twin is not who I really am, but he is with me while I’m on this earth. I say that in the hopes that you will take a look at your heart, take a look at what you desire deep down in your soul, and murder the darkness that consumes you.

     In today’s society, I see this darkness infecting everyone. I only see that because it has infected me too. Our minds are filled with twisted thoughts that are disguised as good and clean. We probably even see them as perfectly okay and reasonable. For example, I have seen many people who say the church just isn’t for them. That’s a sad and scary statement. Most people would say, “Oh well, they’ll regret saying that one day!” But if we were really properly portraying Jesus’s love and how He intended the church to be, they wouldn’t be saying that.

     They should see the church as a hospital. The church should be a place for worship, healing, fellowship, advice, people who share your struggles, and getting closer to our Creator! Instead, it is being portrayed as a house full of Pharisees and hypocrites who look down on the world. There are the preachers on TV who love taking your money “in the name of Jesus.” They tell you that the Bible says we’re supposed to be rich, and healthy. If that were the case, the apostles would have been about the worst Christians ever. They were all dirt poor and mostly died as martyrs.

     The verses they quote that are not talking about physical wealth and health. Jesus doesn’t promise physical health and physical happiness. If you have those things they are either blessings from God, or proof that you might not be as devoted as you say you are. Having a nice house or being rich isn’t bad; don’t get me wrong. It’s what you do with those blessings that show who you really love.

     A lot of pastors however preach that if God hasn’t blessed you with riches, then you’re doing it wrong. That couldn’t be further from the truth, nor can those verses be taken further out of context. They’re talking about spiritual wealth and spiritual health. Following Jesus isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. He gives rest to our souls, not our bodies. He rains down mercy and grace... not money. He is our supplier spiritually, first.

     I look at it like this: if the apostles were to live today, those TV preachers would probably call them the worst names, tell them they are doing it all wrong, and that if they were truly following God they wouldn’t be so short-changed. I’m surprised they can stand up in the pulpit and say something like that. They miss the whole point. Our life is about God, not our comfort. Next time you are praying for safety, pray for God’s will instead. He asks that you give up everything (your plans for your own life) to follow Him. He doesn’t hand out a monthly pay-check. He is the greatest reward.

Think.