The Baby and the Bathwater

Have you ever heard someone say, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater?” When I have conversations with people who are not followers of Christ, this idiom seems to always come to mind.

Typically, there is a story involved about how they used to go to church and were really into it but at some point, they had a negative or even a traumatic experience, so they turned away and did not look back. One woman told me that the church she previously attended tried to convince her that she needed to sell all her belongings and give the money to them. It may sound crazy, but this was her real experience. After her eyes were opened to the deception, she left the church altogether and is now on an entirely different path that is not biblical. She said this path gives her peace, but in the same conversation, as she described her life, her lack of sleep, and other things she is dealing with, it sounded the opposite of peaceful.

Many people have experiences like hers and some have horrific stories about the manipulation that took place in a church they used to attend. What I find sad in situations like this is the fact that oftentimes they end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater and turn away not just from everything associated with Christianity, but with Jesus. Some pursue other spiritual paths. Some become complacent and do nothing or little to cultivate their spiritual lives, or they piece together something from multiple religions and see how that works out.

I don’t have a horrifying church experience, and I am thankful for that. What led me away from organized religion was simple. I began to question everything I had been taught and spent more time talking with and listening to God. I was willing to discard everything religion had taught me. I discovered that I only needed to follow Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. The more I learned with my new Kingdom-focused mindset, the more I no longer could relate to what was happening in church. It began to feel like I was going to a play to watch a well-put-together production, and it became little more than a waste of time.

What I understood from my journey is that Christianity is a religion, and quite frankly it is a lucrative business for some. It took me a long time to process this. It was not very long ago that although I had left organized religion, I still called myself a Christian. I stopped once I understood that Jesus never called us Christians, never gave us a religion, and never instructed us to do church in the way we typically see it done today. Jesus brought the Kingdom and told us to follow Him. Simple as that.

The more I learned, the more I felt angry and hurt at the deception of religion. I began to consider the fact that we are all spiritual beings navigating a human experience. Our enemy, the devil, has been around since the beginning and has plenty of fallen angels and demons working for him. Some are leading congregations.

The devil knows God’s Word. I think the greatest deception is to have people filling the seats every weekend under the guise of worshipping God while in reality they are being deceived. The devil does not care about us going to church. He just wants us to remain distracted and go in perpetual circles where we are always trying to get our lives in order so we can find peace and balance. The worst prison to be in is one you do not know you are in, and religion has done a great job of keeping people imprisoned.

The devil will attempt to keep us distracted all the way to our deathbed. If he can keep us from having life on Earth as it is in Heaven and from doing the work God put us here to do, he will have served his purpose. He knows most people will not go beyond the path of least resistance, and he knows very well how to take advantage of that.

Here is a funny side note. When I have a conversation with someone and share that I no longer participate in organized religion, you know what they say? They always tell me about how I need community and to be around other believers. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. No one has ever suggested that I attend because the pastor does an amazing job of teaching God’s Word and teaching the importance of understanding the Kingdom. No one has ever said I should attend because the pastor encouraged us to go deeper in our walk with Christ. NOT. ONCE. Someone even suggested that I was selfish and “might be sinning” by not taking part in organized religion.

I do want to make it clear that I am not saying all churches are bad and that demonic spirits drive all pastors. Please do not get it twisted. I would never tell anyone they should not go to church. I continue to learn from a lot of pastors in my journey.

I realize this post may not feel as warm and fuzzy as my others and may incite some feelings whether positive or negative. I figured as we end 2023 according to the Gregorian calendar and enter 2024, this is a perfect time to shake things up a bit. Speaking of the Gregorian calendar…Well, I better hold off on that. I’ll bring back my gentle approach with the next post. Maybe.

I just want to encourage people to seek truth. Whether you have turned away from Jesus altogether or are lukewarm and doing little more than a feel-good task to check your religious duty box for the day, please understand that this is serious business. God is longsuffering but one day that will come to an end.

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