A religious institution is not a health club

A religious institution is not a Health Club

My wife recently reinstated our family membership to the local health club. While I am not overly pleased with this decision since I have too much on my plate already and I do not believe my family will utilize the club enough to make it worthwhile, the membership in the club got me to thinking about how some people might consider their membership in a religious institution similar to a health club membership since they remain members until the services of the religious institution are no longer needed. For instance, once the children have grown and moved on, to many, the religious institution is no longer necessary in their lives.

In my opinion, this mindset of discontinuing one’s affiliation with a religious institution once it is expedient represents something inherently wrong in our society.

A religious institution is a not for profit entity owned by its members. It represents a foundation in the community, a place of moral direction and a sanctuary for the belief that humankind is something more than just an advanced animal species.

Personally I could care less if a health club closes, loses members, does not have a profitable season. In contrast, since I consider myself a joint owner (together with those in the past, present and in the future) of my religious institution, I take our successes and disappointments personally. I want my religious institution to thrive and remain viable and relevant in my community. I want it to make an impact on the morals and ethics of my children, the children around me, and certainly upon the adults as well.

Further, the more I volunteer and remain active at my religious institution, the more vested I feel in it as a living and breathing entity and not just a building. I will never have any feelings for a health club. I will never feel a sense of connection with a place that lacks a moral center.

I think we should all think about the need to vest and invest more of ourselves in the religious institution so that we can strengthen that sense of connection and community. While I know that personalities and politics concerning various issues sometimes overshadow the overriding purpose of a religious institution and cause one to question their allegiance to the religious institution, one may be able to turn those feelings around and recognize that such things provide more color and character to the religious organization and that we learn from such behavior and grow as a community.

I sometimes tell my oldest daughter the famous quote “adversity builds character”. While I hope that we can minimize adversity, there is no reason why it must discourage us or cause us harm.

Together we can use adversity to grow stronger and more unified as a community. That is my goal and hope for the years to come.

Shalom. Jeremy