Why Risk It?

There is a new commercial for some sort of identity protection system, I guess, where a guy meets with a non-stereotypical medium. The customer has had his identity stolen. The rather slovenly, heavy and ordinary-looking male medium gazes into his crystal ball and sees that the thief is buying pre-paid cell cards and leather pants, "lots of leather." The customer moves to the medium's side and tries to peer into the crystal ball. The medium stops him and says, "You can't look into the ball, you're not a medium, it will tear a hole in the universe, or something."  The customer asks if he is sure and the medium says, "Why risk it?" The customer acquiesces.

As weird as I am, I immediately figured they were doing a spoof on religion. So often I read or hear about things required of this or that religion, and wonder, "Why do people think God cares about this stuff?" It dawned on me as I watched that commercial. It is because someone in a purple robe in a pulpit told them that if one did do it, or did not do it, or did it this or that way, then one would go to hell. Well, for the many, when the guy in the pulpit says something, then we do it. After all . . . . why risk it?

What troubles me is that much of what we do today that is called religion, we made up. Over the 2000 years since Jesus, we just made stuff up. Heck, the holy day, to the extent a day was recognized at all, was on Saturday. And Jesus, thought very little of the "Sabbath." This was a man-invented idea that Jesus realized God did not care one whit about. He got into a lot of trouble for that, because after all, he was asking them to take a lot of risks, ignoring the Sabbath like that. Jesus took risks to get away from the man-made pomp and circumstance and back to what was really important, a simple and direct daily relationship with God, as you understand Him or Her.

Paul expanded on what Jesus said on all of this. Paul pointed out that anyone who worships or considers idols to have any power at all is one of weak mind. Note that, of course, idols include the cross, the Madonna and all those things for saints that people pray to. We fast for periods of time, refuse to eat certain foods on certain days during certain times of the year, and do all sorts of odd things in God's honor. We made all this stuff up. God does NOT CARE that we do it. Paul explained that there are no special foods or days, and yet because the man in the pulpit says so, we do it. Why . . . well, Why risk it?

Some demand celebacy until marriage, consider homosexuality a sin, don't drink or dance, all because they think God will smite them or condemn them to hell if they violate these rules. The largely egotistical, testosterone driven males leading the various religions over time have created a whole host of these rules, and in many cases the only way to get out from under the curse if you did them was to confess to them, or their underlings, as though they possessed the power to free one's soul from eternal damnation. Today, fewer and fewer people follow these ancient rules, but in conversation one can glean that they are still a bit concerned that perhaps the guy in the pulpit was right. So they follow the rules when they can. After all . . . why risk it?

Because Jesus risked it. Moses risked it. Paul risked it. Mohammed risked it. Siddhartha the Buddha risked it. Gandhi risked it. Martin Luther King, Jr risked it. Bill Wilson risked it. John Wesley risked it. All the great people of all time, took the risk. Amazingly, every one of these people came from nothing. They were not famous. They were not sons of great people. They were regular people like you and me. What made them great? As to the thing they are known for, they each had the clarity of mind to say, "This is silly, God does not care that we are doing this, and we should stop doing it!"

In reality, all of these great people did not feel they were the ones taking the risks! They understood that each of us has a personal relationship with God. The rules are so simple that they do not need a hierarchy of great church masters to explain them. My biggest concern is that ceremonies, rituals, dogmas, and rules allow people to check the boxes of their spiritual lives without ever checking in.

• Went to church on Sunday or Easter or Christmas, check.
• Did the communion thing, check.
• Got the kid baptized, check.
• Ate fish on Fridays during Lent, check.
• Said some Hail Mary's, check.
• Attended the kid's Christmas pageant, check . . . that counts right?
• Prayed, check - yea it was for that par putt to go in, but still, I prayed, and I made the putt.
• Gave some old clothes to the Good Will, check. Got my tax receipt, too.
• Gave the pastor that big check in front of everyone, check.

OK, so now I am a Christian. Off to make money in any way possible. What is the bigger risk?

I suppose there is no harm in any of these practices, so long as we understand God does not care if we do them or not, and we are doing them because they are important for us and our connection to God, as we understand him. Jesus said that if we are going to fast, or whatever, then do it for God and without letting anyone else know that you are doing it. The Muslims fast during the daylight during Ramadan, and those who follow Mohammed's teachings, do it without letting anyone know or changing their ways. If fasting is important to their relationship with God, they do it, but for those who do it is not a way of checking the box. I am not a huge Paulian, but one of my favorite things he said was essentially, recognize that God does not care about man's created idols, saints, special ceremonies, days, foods and the like. BUT if that is important to someone else, do not judge them, but instead, when with them, respect their traditions and eat as they do, drink as they do and respect the things they respect.

Anyway, I am fairly sure that if you are not a true medium and you look into a crystal ball you will tear a hole in the universe. I mean . . .

Why risk it?