TOO MUCH RELIGION Q. Some people say that the reason they do not attend church is because they had too much religion when they were young. Is it possible to have too much religion? A. There may be such a thing as too much religion, but there can never be too much salvation! People offering excuses of too much religion may be rebellious Christians or they may nev er have truly experienced salvation by accepting Christ as their personal Saviour. In the case of rebellious Christians, the only remedy is for them to con fess their sins and reconsecrate their lives to God. When this takes place they will not feel that they have too much religion. On the ¿her hand, the unsaved person who claims he has had too much religion may be mistaking re ligion for salvation. Furthermore, he may have had unwise parents or teachers. Although Christian parents should be eager for their children to live the Christian life, they must real ize that enforcing a lot of do’s and don’ts on the Christian level, before their children are saved, is putting the cart before the horse. They are try ing to make them live as though they had a new nature, when in reality they have their old nature. Wise parents will realize that sal vation precedes Christian growth and Christian standards. There are some who use too much religion as an excuse because they are under conviction; Actually they have heard the gospel but are unwilling to surrender. There is another way in which a person may have too much religion. A Christian can use religion as a means of escaping from the realities of life. I once counseled with a girl who had attended a Christian college. While in school she spent most of
through in several counseling sessions with a pastor or, if possible, with a marriage counselor or a Christian psychologist. If your marriage were more satisfying, your wife would probably not be quite so concerned about your giving a tithe to the Lord’s work. Consequently, I suggest that you make every effort to improve your marriage in general. Concerning the tithe itself, we who love the Lord Jesus Christ are happy to tithe. I remember a message which I heard when I was just a little boy. The preacher said, “When God really gets your heart and life, He will also get your pocketbook.” And this is true! When we reach the point in our spiritual growth that we love God more than anyone, we will count it a privilege to give back to Him all that we possibly can. This means giving to our Gospel churches, to Christian institutions, to Christian broadcasters and to many other works of God. God tells us in Galatians 6:6, “Let him who receives instruction in the word (of God) share all good things with his teacher — contributing to his sup- port” ( A.N.T.) The person who is unsaved cannot be expected to understand tithing. God is not his Father, so there is little affection for God and His work. Un doubtedly when your wife comes to know Christ as her personal Saviour and becomes a mature believer, she will be just as anxious as you are to tithe. Of course, you have one other prob lem. Marriage is a partnership, and as such, both the husband and the wife have a voice in financial matters. Therefore, you may want to tithe your part of the family income and pray that God will speak to your wife’s heart. If you are patient and kind, I am sure that the Lord will win her heart and in time will win her pocketbook, too!
her time in spiritual activities. She took no interest in sports or hobbies because she didn’t know what to do or what to say. She was afraid she would be embarrassed. She never seemed to have time to make friends or to enter into social activities. In this case, her intense, exclusive in terest in spiritual matters was an ef fort to conceal her shortcomings and insecurity. She was hiding behind the skirt of “piety” and was not learning to face and enjoy life as God intended her to do. People like this college girl need understanding and encourage ment. They seldom develop into wholesome, consecrated Christians un less they learn to face life. When we hear people talking about too much religion, we should care fully consider whether or not they are bom again. There can never be too much of Christ for any of us! EVEN IF WIFE DISAPPROVES Q. I have been praying about this problem for a long time because I feel it defeats my life of victorious Christian living. / am a Christian and I believe in paying my tithes to the penny plus offerings to the Lord’s work. My wife doesn’t believe in paying tithes. She believes if we pay one dollar a week, that is enough. To me this is not right. I told her I was going to pay tithes whether she agreed or not. She threatened me with a divorce and the loss of my home and family if I did. / do not want a divorce. The courts are usually unfair to a man. They might give her one on that ground. They are not spirtually minded any way. What shall I do? I need your advice, please. A. Your problem is bigger than your concern about tithing. Evidently you have an unhappy marriage and you need to work
THE KING'S BUSINESS
32
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs