It amuses me to look back on history and see how the pendulum of meaning changes from generation to generation.
Take cigarettes, they were commonplace and accepted in the 1950’s but are a bane today. Churches were once bastions of denominational heritage and are now in competition for superior ecumenicalism.
Take the Christian faith. A popular and at times- misleading statement from the pulpit is, “you don’t need religion, you need Jesus”. Well what’s wrong with looking at Jesus religiously? If the point of that statement is forsaking all other faiths in preference of Christianity, then fine. But maybe more religion is what we really need. Maybe we need to approach our relationship to Jesus more religiously.
Where has duty gone? I mean duty as being a virtue. Duty once held a prized position in a virtuous life. It was held highly by the likes of George Washington, John Wesley, Clara Barton and Mother Theresa.
There is the heroic tale of Lord Nelson who saved England from conquest at Trafalgar in 1805. They remembered his signal to the sailors of all ships of the line, “England expects every man to do his duty.” Then there was that dreadful day when the young (queen to be) Elizabeth learned, when she was ten years old, that her Uncle David, King Edward VIII, was not going to do his duty, but was to give up the Throne in 1936 for the woman he loved.
Duty: a moral obligation to act, an impulsive response to a higher calling.
Duty’s virtue is apparent in sermons of yesteryear. Take the first sentence of John Wesley Sermon 101 written in 1787: I am to show that it is the duty of every Christian to receive the Lord’s Supper as often as he can.
What does this mean for today? To me it means that we have forsaken duty in several areas of our Christian walk.
Church Attendance
“Forsake not the assembling” has turned into “I’ll go to church if I feel like it”. This command given to us in the book of Hebrews is non negotiable, but how often we don’t see it as a divine instruction, but instead worship corporately on our own schedule.
Meaningful Liturgy
Twenty-first century evangelicalism has devolved to a church service that is many times staid and void of meaning. I categorize current church worship liturgy into what I think of as a liturgical triangle: Modern Pentecostal, Conservative Baptist and Liturgical Catholicism – with all shades of difference in between.
We sing two praise choruses, have the offering, listen to the announcements, sign and pass the register book, sing a couple more songs then listen to the sermon and go home. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to have a true communion with God every Sunday? What about a quiet, darkened sanctuary with a few lit candles at the altar while we commune with God? What about approaching God in reverence and awe instead of hoping to catch a glimpse of Him through the over-amplified Christian rock/praise appealing to our baser instincts?
The same goes for another side of the church triangle in those churches whose weekly church service consists of hymns written with archaic words accompanied with a loud out-of-tune piano, poorly sung bluegrass music, then a “fire and brimstone” sermon.
Finally, there are the quiet, repetitive and rote utterances of Roman Catholic liturgy which can lack the element of a personally relating with Jesus Christ. Maybe this could be taking duty a little too far.
So how can we be more religious in our Christian walk?
Obligatory Prayer
How about teaching our children that prayer and devotion are expected daily? I know that this only had a positive effect on my parents and family who practiced it. What was at times a hassle turned into a valued and regular talk with God. This time can become cherished and provide a good heritage.
Compulsory Sacrifice
Our sacrifice can be as simple as opening a door for an elderly person at a restaurant. Sacrifice is the idea that other people (and a higher purpose) are more important than us. This may be the hardest thing to achieve in our world. We live in a world where it’s “all about me, all about I, all about #1” as the song goes. We need to give up our comfort and pride for the benefit that others would see Creator of the world.
Holy Reverence for Christ
This means living Christ in our community with the idea that we represent saved sinners only by the grace of God. For most of us, this would mean living in humility and reverence.
So duty and religion go hand in hand. Instead of viewing God as just casual friend we need to view Him with greater piety. Granted all Christian are different and all Christians will view God differently, but I maintain that we could all use a little more religion in our walk.
