You say you’re religious

That you can get to God through your mind.

You say you do good.

And God loves good, right? 

So when I ask how you get to heaven

You say it’s through your life

You gave money to Africa

And your dollars built a well in Sudan.

And when a little old lady was crossing a road you helped and gave her a hand. 

There was that time you complimented the fat girl

And the day you gave an extra tip to the boy

And once when you were ordering your iced caramel macchiato with soy milk and a shot of espresso, you bought a drink for another guy. 

 

You don’t steal

You don’t cheat

You don’t lie

Well, at least not most of the time

And even if you did, the good outweighs the bad, right?

Because our lives are like a scale

Separating the crap from the cool

Determining Heaven or Hell 

How we live after death

But you say there is no Hell

Because God is love

And God is good

And how could a good, loving God create a place of punishment,

Create a place like Hell?

 

I say I’m not religious

That I don’t believe we can get to God

Because I’ve done bad, I’ve done wrong.

Does it matter what the scale looks like

If my soul is tainted with evil? 

If my soul is nearly gone?

And if God is good and God is love

Then God is holy

And how can holiness reside in the presence of this devil?

 

So if God is justice

Then Hell is not only bloodless

But necessary in punishing our evil lusts

Because a murderer doesn’t deserve Heaven

Even if he’s given to the poor.

And a rapist doesn’t deserve Heaven 

Even if he’s volunteered at a day care.

And that woman who was locked in a cage for 57 days

Would tell you that no God would send that man to Heaven

Simply because he failed to create a Hell. 

That’s not good.

That’s not love.

 

But if God is love, then God is relationship. 

And relationship seeks healing, even when I have messed up. 

So I can’t get to God

But God can get to me

Because despite my stupidity

My failure

My bad

God looked down and said

I love her anyway.

I’m taking her back. 

 

My problem with religion

Is it says I have to follow rules

That God can only love me

If I don’t act like a fool

Here’s a list

Of the things you have to do

For God to say, “I love you.” 

Come to church on Easter and Christmas.

Send some money to a third world mission.

Don’t forget about the generals:

Don’t lie, cheat, or steal

Murder is out.

Slander you must repeal. 

And make sure you sit behind that curtain

And tell the dude what you’ve done 

Because obviously God is too disconnected to know the lives of everyone. 

 

I’m not religious

I’m in a relationship

With a God so big

So loving

So good

That my bad he has overlooked

So when I die 

I will go to heaven.

Not because I did the right things

But because I accepted his love

I accepted his gift of eternity.