Bad Religion - Week 1

We all know what it feels like to be bone-tired—mentally drained from endless decisions, physically exhausted from the demands of life, emotionally spent from the same conversations on repeat. But there's something deeper than all of these: soul exhaustion. It's that restlessness St. Augustine described when he said our souls are restless until they rest in God. In Matthew 11:28, we find Jesus offering the antidote to this universal human condition: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This simple verse contains three transformative words—me, all, and rest—that reveal the essence of true religion versus bad religion. Bad religion centers on charismatic leaders, popular opinion, or, worst of all, ourselves. It adds requirements and burdens, piling rules onto an already exhausted soul. But Jesus' religion centers on Him alone, extends an invitation to everyone regardless of their past or present condition, and offers genuine rest—not the absence of work, but a shared yoke where Jesus carries the weight with us. The challenge we face is recognizing our own “me-ligion,” where we've made ourselves the center, chasing happiness through self-pursuit while neglecting the only source of true fulfillment. The solution isn't to clean ourselves up first; it's to collapse into honest acknowledgment that we never will, and come to Jesus exactly as we are. This isn't just a one-time decision but a daily return to the One who offers what our souls desperately need.