For that again, is what all manner of religion essentially is: childish dependency –  Albert Ellis

Ellis is considered to be more historically influential as a psychotherapist than Sigmund Freud. He was also a self-proclaimed atheist and for most of his career believed that religion created massive psychological strain on the people who bought into it. So obviously this was a brilliant, and brilliantly misguided, man.

But I have to say that the quote above is one that I resonate with completely. I also have to say that I am not writing this post to make myself feel better about missing church this morning without a good excuse.

In the United States, we blast off fireworks once a year (or for a month straight if you live in my neighborhood) in symbolic celebration of a violent struggle to claim our freedom and independence. But for the balance of the other 364 days a year, we’re constantly searching for crutches and distractions, vices, things we can lean on or depend on or believe in.

We think because we are stubborn and opinionated, that we are independent. But we’re not. As humans, we’re geared toward seeking affirmation and being included. Feeling like we belong. That everything is okay. Co-dependency is in our blood. Independence is hard. It’s counter-intuitive. Non-instinctual.

Many times, this childish dependency is thrust upon religion.  It can get in the way of our relationship with God, just as easily as any other sin, vice or dependency can. That’s the irony. After all, religion is largely created by man. In Romans 10:3 it says of Israel, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”

I’m not calling for self-righteousness or isolationism, or suggesting we each create our own individual theologies. Not trying to detract from the value of corporate worship, spiritual structure and being part of a believer-based community. I’m just saying that we should seek independence and keep our minds and hearts free to bond directly with God, with mediation only occurring through Jesus and nothing else. That we not get entangled in the mechanism of religion because of the affirmation and inclusion given to us as a result of shared beliefs.

I know this is way too heavy for Sunday night reading. And I’m not even sure I’m clearly articulating what’s on my mind. But to try and state it much simpler, here’s a summary. As man, we’ve created a lot of pomp and circumstance to being in relationship with God. We’ve created long lists of rules and regulations. We’ve corporatized worship. We’ve mass marketed the Gospel. At the end of the day, we’ve made it very easy to get caught up in all the trappings of being a part of a church or being a part of a specific religious interest. We’ve come to rely, co-dependently, on that religious interest to do all our heavy lifting for us. We expect it to help us carve out our place in this world. We expect it to tell us what’s right, what’s wrong and what God wants for our lives. And many times, we let it get in the way of the personal relationship God wants to have with us.

It’s fascinating that Albert Ellis could get it so right while he was getting it so wrong. But then again, I suppose he’s not all that different than the rest of us in that way.