Don’t Find Religion, Find God First

Too many religious leaders and laypeople are busy focusing on religion and trying to get people to find religion. What they should be doing is focusing on and teaching people how to find God. There are those who would argue that if one has found religion, then they’ve automatically also found God too. This isn’t correct.

When you find religion, you have agreed to follow mainly man’s laws, demands, rules and restrictions. Things that will divide you from others from all walks of life, no matter how good and pure of heart they are, just because they aren’t in the same religion as you are. When you find God and His laws, you are freed from all of those things and find unconditional love, forgiveness and unity.

Religions do teach about love and forgiveness, but they also teach the opposite when it suits them. That happens when they follow their own rules over God’s. It shouldn’t matter if anyone goes to church, belongs to a religion, or even belongs to a different religion than one’s own.

The only important thing is finding God and learning to know Him and invite Him into one’s life. Following what God asks and hopes of us, not what man does. This can be done no matter who you are, or what you do or don’t believe in so far as religion goes.

It is only by finding God, inviting Him into our lives and getting to know Him that we can grow as people and become better human beings. Finding religion doesn’t do that for anyone sadly, but finding God does. This is what religious leaders should be teaching. It is how religions should be, but aren’t.

Maybe if those leaders concentrated on God more and focused far less on their own rules, they might find more people actually turning back and coming to places of worship rather than walking away as they do now.

At present, the way things are done, their own rules and regulations are put as the main focus over and above God’s. Man made rules take priority and precedence over everything and everyone. What they say goes.

They think it is how you follow the rules of whichever religion you believe in that makes you a good follower of God. It doesn’t do any such thing. It just makes you a good follower of something made to suit their own ideas of what controls and moulds you into their ways.

Don’t start to look beyond what they tell you, don’t ask questions, don’t deviate and most definitely don’t look beyond only what they want you to know. If you dare to do those things, you’re seen as a trouble maker or bad Catholic/Protestant/Jew etc. You might be learning to be a better follower of God, but by doing so, they’re losing control of you.

Forget what Jesus told us about seeking and finding, knocking and doors being opened, and just do what your religion tells you and stop seeking answers we were told to seek by Jesus! Religion should be good, but it isn’t as it stands. I would love to see one whole, healthy religion rather than lots of different unhealthy ones. One where different religious leaders of all faiths come together and teach only God’s laws to the people.

We should be able to walk into any place of worship worldwide and be able to hear the same teachings and guidance. Places of worship should be where all people come together and love each other rather than hate. One where all people know, love and serve God rather than man, calling Him by whatever name they wish.

After all, there is only one Creator, it’s just different people call Him by different names. He is still one and the same though. His laws are the same for us all. Why then do we all have to be divided and in competition with each other and why do we all have to be given different rules that never came from God?

Why are so many religions teaching differing messages? They all teach God’s laws in part, but the differences and divisions happen when they add their own and make those more important. Their own shouldn’t be there at all.

The only thing that will decide whether we are to be saved or not is by our behaviour, deeds, thoughts and whether there is purity of heart or darkness lying within each of us. Seek and though shalt find does not mean limit yourself to only what man decides you’re allowed to know or ask about.

We aren’t born into any religion, we become part of one by either our parents’ decision when we’re babies and unable to decide for ourselves, or we join one later when we are able to.

We all come into the world the same and go out the same – as individuals not belonging to anything or anyone but our Creator – by whichever name we know Him. He created us, so we belong to Him. Whether we choose to stay loyal to Him and love Him is our decision, not anyone else’s. That is free will.

There are many truly good people out there who don’t know God at all. They haven’t denied Him, they just don’t know Him, but that doesn’t make them bad people, it doesn’t mean they won’t be saved. God loves them just as much as He does all else He created.

Religious leaders need to realise their duty is to teach about this rather than teaching about their own religion. God didn’t make religion, man did. We will be judged by our Heavenly Father by who and what we are and have been in life, not for what religion we belonged to.

When places of worship teach about God and God’s laws only, about love, acceptance and being good people, they might find they attract more to them than they do by demanding we all follow man’s demands, rules and laws instead. When religious leaders find God, then they’ll be able to teach more about Him to those who follow them.

The pope is doing it and the religious zealots within his own religion hate him for doing so. To them, a title is more important than doing God’s will. Those who know God and follow His laws love what the pope is doing and teaching. More religious leaders need to be doing the same.

The pope is Catholic and the head of Christianity. Other Christian faiths refuse to accept this due to protesting and breaking away in their need to make up even more of their own laws than God’s. They’re leaving God way behind in their lust to pander to man’s – and their own – will.

The pope may be restricted due to being a Catholic and the rules made by man within that religion, but he is teaching far more about God than he is Catholicism. He is teaching about God’s laws and not the ones a Church made up as their own rules. This is what stands him apart from so many other leaders and is why he is bringing more people to God than ever before.

He has done that by embracing all people, not just those of his own faith. THIS is knowing, loving and serving God. Other faiths and those within those faiths would do well to watch and learn by his example. Catholic zealots would do well to take heed and stop decrying and ridiculing his guidance.

Only when they learn to do what the pope is doing will they actually start to know who God is rather than what religion is. Only then will they know about unconditional love and what real service to God is. For now, too many only follow man and man’s demands – that includes their own.