Boiled Down Religion

12.15.11

James 1.27 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. NIV

So, if the entire law hangs on these two things: loving God and loving people, then all of religion hinges on compassion and purity. Simple. James is telling us that if our religion – our relationship with God – is devoid of compassion and purity then it’s probably not true religion. What do you do with orphans and widows anyway?

Orphans are someone else’s problem: caring for someone else’s kids is hard work; and someone has to work in order to make ends meet; and last time we looked caring for orphans is time-consuming and expensive. And widows, all they want to do is talk and talk and talk. How, Lord! How do we make this work? Widows are time-consuming and expensive!

It takes time and effort and God knows the bills have to be paid. But God also notices who does His work and who keeps track of what He deems as important stuff in life. Compassion and sacrifice have to be part of who we are.

As does purity. James boiled true religion down very simply: compassion and purity (not being polluted by the world and its ways). Worldliness boils down to this: godlessness. The world rejects God and His rule. The world lives according to survival of the fittest. The world embraces wealth, power, and self-gratification. We’re to keep ourselves from being polluted by all these things.

Compassion and purity. Compassion is hard because it demands our time and resources. Purity is often easy to mask because few know what we really do. And good old practical James makes it simple: take care of widows and orphans and be pure.

Lord, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me. Cast me not from Thy presence; take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. May the thoughts of my mind and the work of my hands be simply those of purity and compassion. I want to live in and embrace true religion that is pleasing and acceptable, pure and faultless, to You. Amen.