Too Religious

I think I have crossed the line of being "too" religious. When my son has a problem or deals with issues, I recommend that he turn to God. When a moral dilemma arises, I consult God. I rely on stories from the bible or other references when I discuss issues of life. I write about God, sing about God, and sometimes dream about Him. I'm too religious. I never thought it would happen to me, but it did.

Some people enjoy the fact that I am focused on faith. A friend of mine once asked me what made me so much more religious than others, and I told her that I had always had a viewpoint that included my faith in the mix, but that a few years ago something amazing happened to me to bring me to an even closer walk with God. That must've been when I crossed the line.

My son made a joke one day that he saw two women standing on a corner and they looked like they were arguing. My husband and son were elaborating on what they could be saying to one another, and my son said, "One of them is saying, 'John is my boyfriend,' and the other is saying, 'John in my boyfriend!' then, mom comes by and she says, 'John the baptist said...'" We all had a good laugh at my expense, but the bottom line is that I am too religious.

I guess it's a little annoying to some people. I try not to inflict my religion on others by always bringing up God, but when I am helping my family with the important issues in life, I call on my faith. When family members are sick, I pray. When friends need counseling I pray and counsel, counsel and pray. My faith is what centers me and it's my compass, but I guess that I am too religious.

We have a song in our ministry that talks about a preacher who was "...long on faith, but short on religion..." I'm long on faith and usually short on religion, but when you're long on faith, sometimes others would rather you were short on it. I don't know how to be short on faith. I've been clinging to it for too much of my life.

Today, I am feeling like I went over to the weird side--a place that I never thought I would be. I feel like I lean on my faith and that in doing so it makes others uncomfortable. I don't bible thump or stand on street corners. I don't expect others to believe like me, but I try to be an example of faith. I try to offer understanding and love to those around me, and when I am acting on faith, I just want folks to know the beauty that I find in following Christ. I want them to know that there is a relationship with our creator that goes beyond the surface, that lasts more than just on Sunday, that we can go to every moment of each day and that's also what makes me weird. That very kind of focus is what makes me too religious.

Too religious. It's kind of funny, really. When I think of the days when I rarely thought about matters of faith. In those days, I stumbled through the day, but never made a soul uncomfortable. In those days, I hated myself and my life, but everyone else felt fine. In those days, I would walk into a bar and wonder why the hell I was there and where was the meaning in it.

Now, as I have finally found a great life of adventure, beauty, and meaning, I am also too religious. I guess I'll take too religious over the alternative, but I wish that there wasn't such a divide. I wish that being too religious could be normal. I wish that others could know that the life I live is so fulfilling and because it's so fulfilling, I would want that for others, but I would also have to warn them that they could possibly cross the line. They could wind up being a weirdo like me--a Jesus freak--too religous.