Television commercials are interesting to me. They are typically well produced and executed, designed to attract attention to the specific product or service being promoted, to convince you it is best equipped for you to spend your money on them. Commercials, however, are more than just marketing tools, as many times they reflect what are current trends or attitudes in society as part of the appeal to attract customers.
One such commercial that caught my attention is one from an online travel service. It shows people in a variety of situations, each with a caption about what one might be looking for in life, and, of course, how it can get you to that destination, wherever it may be. The caption “Find your…” is presented with various terms used to show what people may be looking for in life. So, the travel service finds your connection and appeals to one’s curiosity, gratitude, future and so forth. What caught my interest was when the commercial captioned “find your religion” with the picture of a major league baseball park. In a way, it captured the sense of devotion people give to sports as best described by the term religion.
The term for religion (religious) in the New Testament describes one who is reverent, who fears God. The service which comes from such an individual may be sincere or hypocritical depending upon the individual. By its very definition, one who believes in God is religious, and any expression of faith constitutes religion, whether good or bad. There can be and is false religion, false because it does not come from pure motives or it does not correspond to the will of God. James mentioned this kind of religion in James 1:26. “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.” This doesn’t mean all religion is bad, as James continued. “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (27). Pure religion comes from the heart, seeking to please God by conforming to His will, demonstrated not just in worship but in every aspect of daily living.
In another sense, however, I would agree that the devotion some have to physical pursuits in life is a false religion for them. Being devoted to something, whether a sport, a job, pleasure or any other activity, shows one’s heart is centered on things physical instead of the spiritual. It shows one’s energies, attention and focus are directed on the temporal and not on the eternal. It may offer the temporary feeling of euphoria, happiness or contentment, but it doesn’t last, even in this life. It certainly will not offer one hope after this life is over. To offer any passion, person or pursuit what rightly belongs to God is a form of idolatry, a false religion. Paul reminds us, “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Ephesians 5:5). Whatever supplants God in our minds and hearts or in our affection and devotion is an idol. To offer it the time and the attention rightly due God may resemble religion, but it’s misplaced and will only mislead.
Satan is masterful at turning our attention away from God to anything else. He deceives us into thinking some physical gratification will substitute for the spiritual longings we have within us, but it won’t. This is why fleshly desires, even if fulfilled, come back and leave one feeling empty. God has set eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11), and it is that part of us that longs for fulfillment, which is found in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30). Most likely, you won’t find true religion at an online travel service, but you will find it with God. May our hearts “be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ” (Colossians 2:2).
