The Real Thing

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” James 1:27

When I was a kid, I was good at listening to what my mother told me to do. But where I fell short was in actually doing it. I was that child who constantly needed correction. I know that I exhausted my mother’s patience on more than one occasion, but her tiresome discipline seemed to pay off. I think I turned out pretty good despite all my antics. James writes in his letter to the twelve tribes concerning the importance of not just listening to God’s Word but actually doing it. 

This is reminiscent of God’s words to Israel through the prophet Isaiah. Israel was fasting for all the wrong reasons. They fasted in hopes of being seen by God. But God said, This is the kind of fast I want: 

“Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who need them and do not hide from relatives who need your help.” (Is. 58:6-7)

There is nothing wrong with religious disciplines for the right reasons, but genuine religion is never about us, it’s about others. We serve God by serving our fellow man and by refusing to let the world corrupt us.