Losing My Religion

I once believed in my religion.

My religion had many laws,

Commanded by God himself.
All chiseled into stone by His own hand.

My religion said I only needed to believe.

But Jesus said that we must love our enemies.
And to treat others as we would like to be treated.
Loving my enemies… is almost impossible.

My religion has a sacred book.

God inspired man to write His book,
God-inspired to be error-free.
But God soon regretted making man…
And killed them all to start over again.

My religion was a religion of love,

Exclusion and condemnation included.
And we’re not to judge others.
Just love them.
All of them.

My religion says to love the sinner and hate the sin.

But some got confused,
And hated the sinner.
And sometimes killed the sinner.

My religion says that same-gender love is not natural.

And that we must convert the unnatural to be natural.
And I often wondered… if being left-handed was natural.
It’s not for me.

My religion says to feed the poor.

Yet we’re more concerned with,
Placing God phrases on coins and car bumpers.

My religion says to pray.

“God answers all prayers,” they said.
My pastor prayed. The congregation prayed.
They were right. He answered.
The casket wasn’t heavy.
Maybe I didn’t believe enough.

My religion became a contradiction.

It became too complicated,
And too conditional.
All I wanted to do was to love others.

And after many years, I figured out that,

I can love…
Without religion.