As many of you probably can guess, I am into physical fitness. Well, at least cycling. Bowflex when I can’t cycle. I also try to eat right. I have my daily helping of ice cream. 
Seriously, eating right is just as important, in many cases, as exercising. A person who exercises by cycling, running, lifting weights, doing Zumba, Intensity (or whatever the craze is), or any other type of activity, still needs to eat right. It seems to be an effort in futility to exercise your “buns off” and go for them washboard abs only to have a fat and calorie-laden eating regimen. When my metabolism was a lot faster, I could just about eat anything I wanted and exercise would take the pounds off fairly quickly.
NOT. ANY. MORE. and because of that it is so much more important that my diet be healthy. But have you ever tasted some of the supposed good food? It tastes like twigs and branches and leaves. Some of the substitutes don’t melt like the real thing. Some of them taste like plastic. There are some “healthy snack bars” I will not touch with a 10 foot pole. One word summarizes the “experience”: CHOKE!
Bob Goff in Love Does put it this way:
I used to think religion tasted horrible, but now I know I was just eating the fake stuff.
He tells a ragingly hilarious story about eating Crisco lard when he thought was eating cream cheese. Talk about…well…I won’t mention it here. One of the things he kept telling himself was “if I eat a little bit more it will taste better.” WRONG! How do you improve on Crisco lard tasting better?
HOW DO YOU IMPROVE ON RELIGION TASTING ANY BETTER? HOW CAN YOU MAKE IT MORE PALATABLE?
You can’t. No way no how. But we sure try. We have religious teachers (notice the lack of the word pastor) who serve us fake food. They stuff it down our throat and tell us, “Here. Eat more. The more you eat, the better you will feel.” Two words: GAG NASTY! No amount of toppings or dressing something up can make religion taste any better.
The thing is Jesus never talked about religion. Except in derision. In opposition to the religious leaders. He despised what they were serving up. What He was serving was to give them life…abundant life (John 10:10). But the religious leaders? Their brand was nothing more than a yoke, a burden around the neck. We have those same kind of people today. Yelling. Screaming. Pushing. Shoving. Force-feeding. Guilt-inducing. (and those are just for starters). Men of God speaking for God? They seem to think so. But I tend to think they wear cloaks and phylacteries around their forehead and wrist. I certainly can’t and won’t call them pastors (shepherds).
What are your thoughts? I’d like to hear them and any experience you may have with these fake shepherds with their fake message. This is part of my ongoing series on Love Does by Bob Goff. You can read others in the series here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. 
I’m not sure I’ve had any personal interactions with “fake shepherds”. I’ve heard a thing or two from one of my pastors that was debatable. The fakes that I have come across have been in my reading. In those cases my “Spidey” senses tingled in an unmistakeable way. I knew that what I was reading was not in line with God’s word.
I finished my reading of Love Does yesterday. I will post my review in the upcoming weeks (it is in the queue).
Seeing it in reading can be as revealing as hearing it. I’m glad you brought that up Daniel. Look forward to hearing your Love Does review.
I used to have a steady diet of law (what I should, ought, and must be doing) pushed down my throat in order to make me a “better Christian”.
It was poison. As St. Paul said, “When the law came in, sin increased.” The law brings only death.
It was only when I tasted the liberating Word of the gospel, that I finally was being fed nutritious food that would bring me life.
Good word: poison. The Word truly liberates and brings good health.
Hi Bill,
My thoughts on this idea are that the false teachers we have today speak very well. There may not be very much yelling or shoving by these men and women. They are intelligent, articulate, charismatic, important, authors, sought after conference speakers, conservative, well mannered. etc.
Someone publishes a book. Other authors get on the bandwagon.
There’s money to be made in them there books and conferences! The bandwagon tears out around the racetrack and many more people get on it. These authors books get taught in churches and bible studies. When they sell alot of books people say ‘see, they are right’. ‘This many people can’t be wrong’. ‘So and so teaches this. He’s a popular author’. If he was wrong in his teaching somebody would say so’.
The truth is many of these men and women are not called out. ‘Heaven forbid that someone would judge them.’ ‘This is just not Christian ettiqette”We must forgive and keep quiet, that’s the Christian thing to do’.
And so the error goes on…and on….and on…. …. …. ….
Unfortunately Linda, what you speak about happens all too often. We are into “rock stars” and that falls in line with that. There does need to be some judging for sure.
Bill, this makes me think of Psalm 34:8: Taste and see that theLord is good. There are so many references in the Bible to food showing us the goodness of God. I’m working on an eBook that explores this. The bottom line is that when we eat what He gives us, we will see Him and the life He wants us to live.
Well said Larry. So much in that phrase “taste and see that the Lord is good.” Let me know about that eBook when available.
“Gag nasty” I think that’s my new favorite phrase! I don’t care for religion. My palette prefers Jesus! It tastes better with coffee
I will go along with you on Jesus.
Bob’s story reminded me of this: When I was a kid, my mom used to pour bacon grease, hamburger grease, etc… into any can that had a lid. When it cools, there is a nice white layer of fat on top. Once I thought it was frosting and spread it onto some dessert. That was a nasty surprise!
Religion is kind of like that.
Oh man, that had to be gag nasty! Jo makes popcorn in bacon grease and that is bad enough. Eating it? Whoa! Agree on that last statement.
You must’ve been eating the wrong kind of “good food.”
One of the most distasteful, destructive thing I’ve been taught by religious teachers is that you can grow closer to God by following the rules and by keeping “busy” doing God’s work. *face palm head desk* It can be appealing to the flesh but it is epic fail as far as really having relationship with Jesus. It quickly builds an army of cantankerous obnoxious clones who have all of the answers versus a growing a community of believers who hear what Jesus is calling them to do corporately and personally.
I am still fighting the long in-grained indoctrination that when there is a ministry need, I should jump right in and work it. Sometimes, I am supposed to, and sometimes I am not. I gotta listen to tell the difference.
If anyone can write about religion and its damaging effects it would be you Susan. You have such a strong story to tell. Tragically, you still fighting it is proof of its damage.
I believe satan uses religion much the same way he always has; to turn people away from God. Legalistic living is the biggest turn off to anyone. We have some friends who’s mom went to one of the “healing” TV preachers. After going way out of their way to have her touched by this man, one look at her gnarled up legs and he said, “Not enough faith”!
I believe in miracles, but probably not by a guy on TV who has more jewelry than anyone else…
That is one disgusting lie Floyd! “Not enough faith.” The curls my insides. The enemy has never been against using what looks good to serve up some nasty food.
Fake shepherds are out there and unless the flock knows the word of God they will be deceived. Each of us are responsible for our walks with Christ.
It’s sad that Fake Shepherds can get away with this in today’s world. I can understand it occurring when literacy was low and/or Bibles were limited- but Today?
There really is no excuse.
You are so right TC. People need to know the Word and have discernment. Some of it does fall back on the shepherds.
I think a lot of the problem comes from not teaching the full counsel. You could easily isolate passages of scripture and make Christianity out to be all about license. You could easily make it out to be all about sacrifice and hard work. It takes intentional effort to “round things out” appropriately and teach the full story.
Teachers, people, pastors all are guilty of doing just what you are saying Loren: isolating passages and making them say what we want. The whole counsel of God needs taught.
Oh Floyd, that is terrible what was told to your friend’s mom! I am learning that having “religion” & having a relationship with Jesus are 2 very different things. Once your heart is opened up & its been revealed that you grow in your relationship with Jesus, being “religious” is just a word. It’s what’s in the heart that matters. Just my little 2 cents worth today.
Lard… YUCH! (And yes, that comes from a Ukrainian in whose country, pork fat / bacon is one of the main traditional foods… and I start to like it every once in a while).
I LOVE that quote about horrible taste and fakeness. Wow. It’s loaded – and true!
It stinks to try and show Jesus to people when they immediately think of the Orthodox kind of Jesus. At times I even dare to think that Christians in Muslim / Communist countries have it easier. Yes, they face physical dangers, but they know what they believe. When I was born, USSR was already undergoing changes in regards to how to treat His followers, and when I was 5, the USSR collapsed completely, so I was blessed to grow up with freedom to worship. Yet I still remember times when there was only a handful of [protestant] Churches around Kyiv and Ukraine (Orthodox Churches remained during the USSR, although a HUGE number of them was destroyed…) and faith was pure… Then all the cults and odd teachings came in and corrupted the faith – and it became a religion. And sometimes, even I start to wonder – perhaps I got it all wrong? (Thankfully God stops me in time and shows me His way before I veer off into some ravine)…
Thanks for that quote – need to remember it.
I love your “other world” view Zee that I don’t get. What a shame that Christianity was “pure” but then false teachings and cults were allowed to take root. Hmmm sounds like another country I am distinctly familiar with. Glad you liked the quote.
So what’s the point here? That we should make the gospel compatible to the populations’ palate? I can’t, and won’t sugar-coat God’s word to satisfy the taste of many idol worshippers. God’s message hit me like a ton of brick and brought me to conviction and repentance. I just don’t see that happening in the churches anymore, as pastors seek the funding to increase God’s building…I could go on, but you get my point, lol
I am with you and can’t find a taste for religion these days. It is distasteful to me that heavy handed platitudes and tired retoric tries to beat people up and belittle any possiblity that people can find God in any way outside of their prescription. It is like salvation depends on their take instead of trusting God’s power to save….still tastes like Lard.