Getting the Religion out of the Church

Frankly I am fed up with religion. Mostly the politics that go hand in hand with religion. Being imperfect humans, or even sub-humans (tomorrows blog entry), we tend to let religion and politics blind us about what really needs to be done. In a way, religion only creates space between God and us, and does not bring us closer. I have been thinking about this greatly due to a situation brought about by my mother. Yesterday as I was preparing to leave for church, her and I were going about our respective plans for the day. I told her of an event at the church I was going to be helping out with. Now this was an event that she has helped out with routinly for the last 4 or 5 years, yet this time around she has chosen to boycott it because recently some other volunteers has made negative remarks about a friend of my mother. She was upset that they had gone behind her friends back and spoken unkind words about her, and did not address their problems face to face with the person. Yet my mothers answer is to this whole problem is to complain to me, not to the people who wronged her, and to not attend this event for awhile, thus perpetuating the situation. The only people who are losing here are the kids. I told my mom that it they both need to man up and keep working, or to turn the other cheek, if you will. She says it isnt that easy. Oh, but it is. We as Christians can't be rattled but the nay sayers. Fight the Good Fight. Blessed are those who are perscuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all maners of evil against you, falsley on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. That the problem with Christians today. The guidlines Chirst lays out for us in the Sermon on the Mount are so easy to follow, yet we let the world cloud our judgement. Being a Christian is no walk in the park, meaning the life style is not one glorified or conidered the "good life" in the world. People today put too much focus on the Religion, and showing their belief in God. We need to shift that focus to the personal relationship between ourselves and God.