The Smokescreen of Pious Talk

"In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true." (Matthew 5:34, The Message).

Did it ever occur to you that God does not want you to be religious? And, furthermore, this aversion you have in your soul for that which is religious and pretentious was actually placed there by God — who wants you to be real.

So when you talk to God, talk straight. He knows what is in your heart; and that's what He wants to hear coming from your lips. Don't go Shakespeare on Him — unless, of course, you're William Shakespeare. And, for the record, Jesus did not speak in King James English. Neither do you.

Be true to who you are, honest with how you feel, transparent about what you think, truthful with your fears and concerns; as well as your hopes and dreams. Tell God everything, but don't dress it up all pretty and nice. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace; rather, you actually disguise them — and bring them under suspicion.

The problem with religious chatter is that it becomes ritualistic; and rituals, by definition, are scripted and inflexible. What God desires is an open and flexible heart. When a man or woman (or a boy and girl) is simply honest before God — He responds in powerful ways; ways that satisfy our deepest longings, and shape our lives into something beautiful.

The bottom line is this — don't talk religious to God, and don't do it to your friends either, because the more religious your speech sounds — the less true it is.