May 2018
your heart is full of lies
you go to your church every Sunday
sing your hymns
and give your tithes
then promptly
complain and gossip after the service
you fail to seek God whom you do not know
and instead bow to your various idols
your life is muddled
you grasp for answers
that are just beyond surrender
I once sought comfort from your company
but my useful habits are only corrupted
the more time I spend at church
I'm seeking the love of Jesus here
but I can't find it in anyone's hearts
no one seems to truly care
some churches preach prosperity,
others brim and firestone
they seek to do good deeds
but with ill intentions
it's merely a choreographed dance,
of rule-following,
of keeping up the appearances
but look beyond the facade and into their hearts
and you will be saddened and surprised
here you are the outsider
in a church founded on lies
and all you really wanted
was to be lovingly embraced
by a Jesus following community
but all you found at church
was religious futility.
you go to your church every Sunday
sing your hymns
and give your tithes
then promptly
complain and gossip after the service
you fail to seek God whom you do not know
and instead bow to your various idols
your life is muddled
you grasp for answers
that are just beyond surrender
I once sought comfort from your company
but my useful habits are only corrupted
the more time I spend at church
I'm seeking the love of Jesus here
but I can't find it in anyone's hearts
no one seems to truly care
some churches preach prosperity,
others brim and firestone
they seek to do good deeds
but with ill intentions
it's merely a choreographed dance,
of rule-following,
of keeping up the appearances
but look beyond the facade and into their hearts
and you will be saddened and surprised
here you are the outsider
in a church founded on lies
and all you really wanted
was to be lovingly embraced
by a Jesus following community
but all you found at church
was religious futility.
Okay, so this poem may confuse some if you have read my previous poetry, because I'm sure it's quite obvious that I am a devout Christian (but I like to think of myself more as a Jesus follower, since the title Christian has so many negative connotations). But I must clarify that I am not a church going Christian. I read my Bible, I pray and I seek to become a friend of God, drawing closer to Him each and every day. I feel like the churches I have been involved with in the past only hindered this relationship building process. Now, I am not discouraging anyone from attending church, especially if it contributes to your faith. But I've experienced too much hypocrisy at different churches and even though the desire to fellowship with like-minded Christians still remains, I think it is best for me to extricate myself from churches that are dripping in false doctrine, hypocrisy and carnal mindedness. In this type of environment I eventually succumb to group think and turn into a rule abiding brainless robot that puts social expectations way above service to God.
