Religous....

Col. 2:16-19 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. [17] These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. [18] Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. [19] He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Here’s the problem with religion: it makes us compare ourselves to other people. We judge ourselves against them. When we feel we are doing worse we feel bad, and when we feel we are doing better we get self-righteous. We judge the actions of others. And this is because religion is about doing. It is about achievement. It is about measurement. It is about following rules, ticking off boxes on a giant religious checklist, and putting your faith in what you can achieve.

But faith in Jesus Christ, putting our trust in him, is different. We are relying not on what we do, but on what Jesus has done for us. This is grace – there is no self-righteousness, no judgementalism, no comparison and nothing to achieve. Because when Christianity becomes these things it is because we are depending on ourselves following the rules, rather than deepening our relationship with Jesus, the true source of our ability to live a life of love.