When Good Intentions Become Distractions
Any religion has fundamentalist sub-groups within it. While we may be more familiar with Islamic groups in recent news cycles, Christianity is no exception. Many sects, or denominational groups, align with one another based on dogmatic ideals or principles. Historically, they may have formed with good intentions to take a stand against a pop culture or political movement. Over time, groups often lost sight of the issue that prompted their creation, and it developed into a subset that became more focused on protecting its preferences, ideals, or history.
For example, in the early 1920s, American Fundamentalism was prompted by the Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, and a reaction to modernism and an elevation of the inerrancy of Scripture. These are and were good things. You can research the history and progress on your own. My point is that what can start with good sometimes loses sight of its original purpose and gets distracted by things that don’t matter. For example, I was reared in a fundamentalist church. I take great pride in the fact that Scripture was elevated and prioritized. However, I was driven by guilt and shame when more energy was preached on whether you should go to the movies or wear shorts rather than taking Jesus to a lost and dying world.
This is similar to the spirit observed in the Pharisees in March 2:23-28. Over time and even with good intentions, this religious group had forgotten why God gifted us the Sabbath. They had lost perspective on its reminder of God’s nature and gift of final rest and replaced it with stringent rules that define one’s spiritual fervor.
If we are not careful, we can become guilty of viewing our faith practices as boxes to check off rather than ways to rest in our relationship with God. He created us for relationship and that personal connection must be our aim. In the words of the old Gospel song, remember, “He walks with me and He talks with me; and He tells me I am His own. What a joy we share as we tarry there. None other has ever known.”
