Many times people have a certain warped mentality and view about those that profess to know and worship God. It is either they are seen as fanatic or untrained or weird or out of tune with the rest of the world. The sands of history have recorded a certain wide mental berth that’s given to children of God and just as I have been thinking in this regard, I know there are others out there that are doing same. Religion. Yes. Religion. When I say that, what comes to mind? Prayer? Sacrifice? Worship? What? Denotatively religion is simply a set of organized belief systems, structures and codices. In the spheres of christian life however, there’s another hue of religion called Religiosity.

What is Religiosity ?

Religiosity is simply the passionate and rigorous, systematic and mechanical adherence to a set of religious, systems and structures, most of the time while not knowing the purpose for the adherence of these parameters. It is simply put, doing something without knowing why you’re doing it but simply because you have to or you’re supposed to.  It is doing something without any personal conviction or revelation. There is something almost robotic about it; praying for a certain span of time not because you know why but because you have to; attending gatherings with no understanding of the purpose of the gathering and what it does for you; tithing because you see your mom do it; fasting because everyone is doing it; worshiping in church because everyone is doing it. It is in Religiosity, that things like mantras and creeds and recitations take hold. That is surprisingly the reality of most of the body of Christ now. In religiosity, there is the absence of personal revelation; personal conviction; personal willingness and active belief and sadly the absence of ANY GROWTH AT ALL because you are all going through the motions and doing what you have to do to be accepted in the norm. Religiosity is what is killing the advance and the true expression and unveiling and glory of the Church; the body of Christ. The reality of the matter is that Christianity is the only religion that’s not a religion.  No it’s not. It’s founded on a sacred exchange whose perk or outcome was so you could be the best you; the true you that you were created to be. You would probably think that I should give a contrasting perspective if this activity of religiosity is not the ideal. Well… it’s this…

Spiritual

Yes… spiritual… spirituality. This is the establishment of meaning of you, your life, the world around you and their interconnectivity according to how God willed it. Look at what John said here in 1 John 5:13

“I write this to you who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the name of the Son of God [in the peculiar services and blessings conferred by Him on men], so that you may know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have life, yes, eternal life.” This is the amplified version and I love it for its penchant for elaboration. Did you see how it interpreted the word “KNOW”? It said, “with settled and absolute knowledge”. Look at this: the word ” know” comes from the Greek word EIDO and it means this; to perceive, discern, discover, to ascertain what must be done, to experience a state or condition, to perceive the force and meaning of something which has definite meaning, to KNOW HOW, BE SKILLED IN, to be aware, to behold, be sure of. Now consider the various meanings of the original Greek EIDO and you would understand that John was referring to a tangibility with respect to awareness and understanding and provable knowledge; not an abstract or empty acknowledgement of a concept but an awareness; a perception with your person which is your spirit. You see, man is spirit essentially. Your body is your domicile here on earth, like a jacket. That is why you shed it when you die in the physical. Therefore you can understand that on a deeper level, when John said “know”, in the original Greek and Hebrew, he meant an awareness with your person (spirit) and your senses. A knowing that is real to you; a personal revelation; a personal conviction; a personal understanding and appreciation. What is my point? My point is, this is spiritual and if you go through the bible, you would find especially in the New Testament, that almost all the time an activity or exercise or action were mentioned, the original Greek and Hebrew would tell you that it required or it spoke of it on a spiritual level; a deeper level than monotonous mechanisms of mantras, recitations, empty memorizations and whatnot.

Christianity is a lifestyle; an expression expression of the Christ life.

It is a lifestyle; a lifestyle of the spirit. It is reiterated in Galatians 5:16

”But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).”

Paul is admonishing that life in Christ is a walk; a living; a responding in, by and of the spirit. Life in the spirit is revelation; it is awareness, it is intentionality of the realities and paradigms of life and what makes and unmake it. You would know then that the way to grow, to advance and to experience the true life that God planned for us is by the spirit. I mean, the very fact that you are a spirit should tell you that life is spiritual and that Christianity is a spiritual life and not one grounded on mantras, empty revelation-less and mechanical activities.

It is spiritual my dear!

That is why Ephesians 4:13 says,

“until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

 The Bible has shown the way; the only way; and that is how to save the body of Christ from the canker of religiosity! WE MUST MATURE FROM BEING RELIGIOUS TO TRULY BEING LIKE CHRIST IN LIFE AND IN OUR LIVING. WE MUST GROW!