Reading the scriptures and observing the real life I observe that there is a fight between two facts.
God tells us to Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God and you will be My people; and walk in the whole way that I command you, that it may be well with you. (Jeremiah 7:23) On the other hand, we want to perform some kind of ritual. It seems that it is in our nature to do things instead of obeying God. I Jeremiah 7:22 it tells to the Israel people that in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. We think that we would get out just with making something. We try to change something outside of us instead of changing something inside of us.
Maybe that is why there are so many religions out there. All want to work out some processions and to receive the self fulfillment. More or less, our conscience accuses us. In out deepest part of the soul, we want to be free of this. Maybe we do not realize it. Instead of doing the real change within us we try to escape with doing something exterior.
Christianity did not escape of this plague of exteriorism faith. We created so many rituals and processions like all the other religions out there. At the base of Christianity is the only and true God, but because of our sinful nature, we made it just a religion like all the others, a religion of rituals instead one of faith and obeying. Instead of living in the light I am walking in the gray area. My conscience accuses me, so I feel guild. This guilt hurts. In this situation I want to escape the guilt. So, I try to make it go away by performing some rituals. But actually doing so I am treating the result, not the cause. I try to make go way the resulting grief.
The prophet Jeremiah tells us from the Lord:
5 For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings,
if you thoroughly and truly execute justice between every man and his neighbor,
6 If you do not oppress the transient and the alien,
the fatherless,
and the widow
or shed innocent blood
[by oppression and by judicial murders]
or go after other gods to your own hurt,
7 Then I will cause you to dwell in this place,
in the land that I gave of old to your fathers
to dwell in forever.
Jeremiah 7:5-7
I encourage you to continue those thoughts. Please let us all know how do you feel about this, how your inner being tries to get away with performing rituals. Thank you!
