Religion and Life

MANY definitions have been given of religion. There is little to be gained by adding to them, but we should like to quote again from one of those most often quoted: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” These few words, of course, make now claim to completeness. There are many things to be done besides; and even James, who wrote them, would and did add more. But the principle is here proclaimed that religion is more than doctrine and dogma: that it is something to be worked at, not merely thought of; something to be done, not merely talked about; something to be lived, not merely printed and read or spoken and heard. Also here implied is the inconsistency of trafficking in questionable things on weekdays and sitting in high places on Sundays_which could scarcely be called religion “pure and undefiled” or keeping oneself “unspotted from the world.” Whenever we cannot take our Sabbath ethics and morals and ideals with us into our weekday business, we would do well to look critically at our business. Whenever we cannot take our Sunday professions into our everyday life, we would do well to do some self-examining. Whenever we cannot take the standards and principles of our religion with us into our social activities, we would do well to scrutinize, and perchance to revise, some of the things we are doing. Religion should condition the whole life_not merely the Sabbaths and the special occasions. And if it does less than this, either there is less in our belief than there should be, or less in our practice than our belief deserves. To quote James again: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . . If any man among you seem to be religious . . . but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.” In short, however it may be defined, either our religion works in our lives or it doesn’t, and if doesn’t, there is something lacking in it or in us. Assuredly, religion has much to do with heaven, but assuredly it has also much to do with earth.