Is Traditional Church & Religion Distracting You from REAL LIFE CHANGE?!

This is a topic I've been meaning to address for awhile. However, I have recently been very convicted to share, due to an overwhelming concern we may be placing our focus, and more importantly our dependence, on something that could be ultimately hindering our growth & development in our work and lives.

The reality is that we ALL want to live amazing lives…but I believe we are relying and depending on the wrong things and are ultimately going in the opposite direction of what will allow us to experience the amazing life we envision.

Here is what I know, and believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, because it is true…

Consistent & Close Relationship with God will make EVERY AREA of life better!

Relationship with God Will make you a better man and the man you are looking to be. Psalms 37:4 makes it very clear…

"Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart"

Very simply put…'delighting in the Lord', means to build a healthy delightful relationship with the Lord…and you can expect life to get better (aka. the desires of your heart).

However, my concern is that people are NOT seeking RELATIONSHIP because they may be distracted by religion!!

I define religion as 'the set of rules and regulations' one must follow to be in 'right standing'.

Example: Because I know how powerful relationship with God is…when I ask someone to describe their personal relationship with to me…they immediately reply with something related to their attendance to up church.

MY CONCERNS:

1. People(including us men) are relying more on religion than we are relationship with God
2. People(including us men) are missing out on the real transformative power of a close relationship with God

• There is a misconception, within many that believe in God, that in order to live a life of success, significance, impact, fulfillment and meaning, that it you find this outside of relationship with God
• Let me make this clear. When you have a consistent and close relationship with God, he becomes your…
  • Source of strength, energy, & fulfillment (providing endurance and happiness)
  • Secret to peak performance in your work and life (providing more productivity)
  • Solution to any problem or challenge you face (providing peace of mind)

1. People live like their faith is a part or aspect of their life…instead of a way of life.

Therefore, this results in…

• Many church goers…not a lot of Christ followers
• Not enough examples of real men Christ followers for other men to model after

This idea of religion and traditional church vs relationship with God, what brought to my attention as a result of my personal story during the peak of the Covid pandemic in 2020. I noticed when the churches shut down, one of 2 things happened to peoples' faith:

1. It decreased because their faith was dependent on 'traditional church'
2. It increased because they learned how to build a more personal relationship with God that was NOT dependent on traditional church.

I experienced #2. And the more I developed a more personal relationship with God, I saw every area of my life (family, marriage, work, business, health) improve, including my ability to handle conflict and crisis.

THE CHALLENGE: Many are depending on church more than they are God

Traditionally we have associated our faith with (1)church attendance, (2)serving in the church, and (3)tithing to the church. Therefore…

• Church has traditionally been perceived as the place where you go to worship God
• Many believers view service as primarily taking place within the walls of the church
• Tithing is associated with being a good 'church goer'

We feel like we are doing what we need to do for the 'faith part of our lives', by checking those 3 boxes off of the list…and therefore believe we are doing what we need to do for our faith.

Yet unfortunately, many people still feel stress, depressed, unhappy, unfulfilled, life lacking meaning, don't know our purpose, making bad decisions, can't hit our goals, etc DESPITE checking off all the boxes of faith.

I once thought this exact same way…but here is what I discovered…

We often depend on religion and traditional church to replace the relationship God is seeking with us in order to transform us. Relationship is the answer…not religion and traditional church!

Don't get me wrong...i'm not saying church is bad! However, what I am saying is that it doesn't replace the thing that actually transforms you…it doesn't replace what you are ultimately looking for and need!

Example:

Imagine being dehydrated. Water is what you need…water is what will rehydrate…water is the solution. However, if someone gave you orange juice instead…it would give you hydration, and maybe even some good flavor…but it IS NOT WATER! Don't get it confused…relationship with God is the water you need for the dehydration of your spiritual life. And dehydration looks like stress, unfulfillment, vices, bad habits, etc.

Church as we know it…is supplement, not sustenance! Relationship with God is sustenance! Nothing replaces it!

MY STORY:

Once I realized this…my life drastically changed! I was no longer dependent on any place, event, or deed for a connected spiritual life. I became personally responsible for my faith and building this relationship as the foundation and sustenance for my life. This translated into showing up as a great husband to my wife, father to my children, leader at work, clarity in business & life…aka REAL LIFE CHANGE!

Nothing replaces relationship with God…not even church!

Spend DAILY TIME with God that is NOT DEPENDENT on anything but you and your time with Him. Build an actual relationship…I Dare you!! Watch what happens!

If you need help, book a 1:1 Discovery Call with me at https://drbradmd.com