Do People Use Religion as a Crutch?

I must begin by saying that I am a Christian. I attended a Baptist church during my childhood and adolescence. I enjoyed the message, and always came away with a brighter outlook on life; I always thought, “God will get me through anything!” As an adult, I don’t go to church, but I still say the Lord’s Prayer before bed with it’s add-ons at the end, asking God to watch over my family, my fiancÃ?©, my friends, etc. I have noticed, more and more though, that I ask that God help me get through a mess that I have got myself into. For example, if my car payment is 2 months behind, I ask God to not to let the finance company repossess my car, or if I threw a fit at work that day and I knew that I was going to get a talking to the next day, I ask that God not to let me get fired. This has gone on for years! If I am low on gas, and I want to get a few more miles out of the tank before stopping, I ask God not to let me run out of gas. If something bad did happen, like my car breaks down (because I haven’t had the oil changed in 6 months), I would think that God didn’t care about me and I’d ask God, “why did you do this to me? I’m a good person!”

I have recently come to the realization that my dependence on God has made me irresponsible! The church always preaches, “let go and let God,” but I had taken it to the extreme. I then began to think back to my fellow churchgoers from my youth. None were rich, in fact most were near poverty. I realize that Christians aren’t supposed to go around flaunting new BMW’s and jewelry, but I do remember a lot of people in the church needing a lot of prayers and extra offerings to help with whatever financial dilemma they were facing. I remember infidelities, even as a child, I remember hearing people say that so-in-sos husband cheated on her with one of the ladies in the choir. I wonder if he prayed that he wouldn’t get caught! I wonder if he asked God why he let him get caught!

I still believe in God, I still pray, but it is just to thank God for the things that he has allowed ME to accomplish, instead of thanking him for saving my back side, again. I have noticed a huge change in my life since coming to this realization. I have taken more responsibilities for my actions. It’s not that I don’t believe that God will help me in time of crisis, I just don’t think that my little personal problems are truly considered “crises,” especially since they are usually brought about by my own irresponsibilities.