These indeed have an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.      Colossians 2;23, ESV

These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.       Matthew 15:8-9, NIV

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.       James 1:27, ESV

We hear it all the time. When talking about religion, someone will invariably say something like: "I love Jesus, but I hate religion!" But, how can that be, for religion is the application and practice of one's faith? Can people really "hate" living their faith? Of course, the answer to this is no, for true religion in its essence is in part helping those who are in need and keeping oneself from sin.

No one I know has any objection to these noble characteristics, so what is the problem? What is it that causes people to say that they hate something that God views as pure and undefiled? The answer should be obvious: It is self-made religion that people revile. It is the type of "vain worship" that is the result of following the rules of men rather than the rules of God that has become so popular in our modern-day church. The clear truth about this self-made religion is that God does not like it either. But the sad thing is that men of ignorance have not just rejected the rules of men but also the rues of God, and by doing so have abandoned the religion that God commands us to practice.

They have thrown the baby out with the bathwater!

So, what can we do? The most obvious answer is that we must find the difference between the rules of men and the commandments of God. The only way we can do this safely is to read the Bible for ourselves. Otherwise, how we will know whose rules we are following? Too many people have put their trust in men but have then become disenchanted with true religion because they think these men are preaching the Word of God and they do not like the results.

Our modern-day worship has devolved into a "rock concert" culture in many of these so-called worship events. Our giving has often become self-promoting, with cameras ever present so that they can record our "good deeds" so that they can be posted on social media for our own glory. People are "talking the talk" but when it comes right down to it, they are failing to walk the walk, and it has the appearance of what it is: Hypocrisy, instead of what it should be - religion! 

Again, we must ask what we can be doing to change this, and again the answer should be clear: If you want to make sure you are living by the rules of God instead of the rules of men, you must begin going to the source of God's rules - the Bible! Then we can find out how God wants us to live and how He expects us to worship. And when we find these things, I believe that we will also find the kind of religion that will be pleasing both to God and man. Absent that, I am afraid that many will just go on hating religion, when in fact they are just hating the results of a false religion that is a work of men rather than the true religion that is a design of our Holy Father.

Do you "hate" religion? If so, then it is time to find out what true religion is all about. Maybe then we can get on with the work that God has called us to in the first place.