RELIGION VERSUS RELATIONSHIP

"RELIGION VERSUS RELATIONSHIP"

By Roger Douglass

LDS Mission Story Here.

When I was serving in the city of Santos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, we baptized a family that had 9 children. Father, mother, and all 9 children. Most of the children were in their teens. They had a very beautiful 19 year-old daughter. I was 20 at the time. One time there was an activity at the Stake Center, about 2 miles away, and my companion asked me to escort

all the kids home by myself. He trusted me. The 19 year old asked me to take a walk on the beach with her. I refused. Not because I didn't like her, had this been any other situation I would have taken her up on it, she was very beautiful and a wholesome girl too.

The reason I mention this story is because I had rules I was supposed to keep. I was not supposed to date. I would consider walking on the beach with a girl my age a date, even if there were no kissing or hugging.

I thought by keeping the rules, that I would be blessed with wealth, a good job, and amazing things. This was all just a pipe-dream. I got home and told God, "I kept your rules, I served a mission for you, now YOU OWE ME!" I never got mad at God, but I kept insisting that he owe me.

Instead of my life getting better, it got worse. I married a woman who was physically, emotionally, and spiritually abusive to me. She devastated me financially. I am still recovering from some of the damage she caused over 15 years ago.

CONCLUSION:

God doesn't owe you anything. You cannot earn favor from God by performing good actions or keeping rules. Your motivation for doing good works should be love, not expectation of a reward. I have had to learn this the hard way.

Since accepting Christ, being forgiven, and becoming a follower of Christ, my life has become more difficult, not easier. The difference is, I don't get the anxiety like I used to. Yes, I still get it from time to time, but it's not something that lasts for months or years like it used to. I trust in Christ. I believe that everything works to his purposes. I want to do good things out of love for Christ, not out of expectation of some earthy reward.

This to me is the difference between religion and relationship. Religion is rules that you have to keep. Relationship is about doing what's right out of love with no expectation of anything in return.