Almost 20 years ago, I was born into what I believed to be one of the most religious families on the planet. That is until I grew up and saw all the fundamentalist Christians across the globe, which massively changed my point of view. Even still, I would say that my family is still really religious.
I was heavily involved in church from an early age. My grandma arranged my first church solo at 2 years old, singing “This Little Light of Mine,” which I’m pretty sure is every kid’s introductory church song, but that’s neither here nor there. I don’t remember much of that moment, but I do know from then on, I was in choir at every church I was a part of. I also know that I was in vacation bible school, Sunday school and every other children’s church activity.
As I got older and the world started changing in front of my eyes, my opinion on religion began to change. I was overtaken by peer pressure in grade school, so I learned quickly that it wasn’t “cool” to be a wholesome Christian girl. Anytime I spoke up about my faith, I was either a prude, an annoying goody two-shoes or a likely enemy of the LGBTQIA+ community.
In high school, I completely dissociated from Christianity. Once I had been introduced to the occult, the power of the universe and astrology, I thought there was no going back. It was certainly not as complicated as being a Christian. Then again, I was a hormonal sex-crazed teenager who had very little self confidence and intense people pleasing tendencies, so I feel like the straying away made sense for the time.
If I had to identify a period of my life that showed me just how much I need God, it would be college. My first year in college was incredibly traumatic and I kept trying to push through, but I needed guidance and wisdom. I needed a source of strength and someone to rely on, especially since family and friends had let me down in that department. During that dark time, something just led me to God.
I’m sure that sounds super cheesy and like textbook preaching, but I don’t really know how else to put it. Obviously, once I started trying to build a relationship with God, everything wasn’t automatically peaches and cream. I was still struggling with having faith in Him, obeying His word and following a Christian lifestyle in a college environment.
I don’t know if any of you all know this, but college is like a hot pot of sin. I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way either. College is definitely a place for young adults to find themselves and learn more about the world, but that can include persistent temptation when it comes to living a Christian life.
I, by no means, am free of sin. I’ve probably indulged in the typical college life more than most of the people I know. However, now that I am even more dedicated to strengthening my relationship with God, I’ve noticed just how difficult staying on the straight and narrow path is.
Peer pressure is even more intense now, and it isn’t even how it was when I was younger. Back then it was kids telling me I had to do something to be cool. Now, just being around people in sin-provoking situations is a bit much for me.
It’s also not very comforting that there are “Christians” who come on campus and harass students for “participating in sin” just because they belong to a particular community or have differentiating viewpoints. It places a sort of stigma on the religion as a whole and, for those of us that aren’t fundamentalist bigots, creates a very narrow window of acceptance from others.
Just to be very clear, it is not our place as Christians, or even as people, to judge others for how they choose to live their lives and any real Christian would know that. This also lends into politics and society in general.
I don’t know who died and said that Christianity, or religion in general, had a place in politics, but I wish I could have a very unpleasant word with them. Yes, I acknowledge that religion can influence people’s personal values, but that doesn’t mean that religion should be deliberately inputted into every little decision that is made. Especially not when the religion is being defiled and desecrated by ignorant bigots so that they can appeal to other ignorant bigots.
Cherry picking Bible verses and pointing the finger at opposing views has gotten this country into so much trouble that you’d think by now, people would be wondering if God even likes us at all. My personal opinion is that if anyone is curious what He has to say about anything, He left it for us in His word. Please, take a look at it for yourself so that you can be educated and have a defense against those who haven’t done so themselves.
There are groups here on campus, such as Chi Alpha, Baptist Collegiate Ministry and Delight Ministries, that are meant to be safe havens for students that want to be open in their faith and I’ve found some comfort in that. I recently became a member of Delight myself and I’m so happy to have found a group of Christian women dedicated to connecting more with Christ, just like I am.
Joining Delight and spending more time with God helped me realize that I don’t have to be ashamed of my religion anymore than I have to be ashamed of the clothes on my back. The most important thing for me is that I’ve come to know who God is and how much he cares for me, which is much more valuable than what anyone else has to say about it.