07/26/2026

The Burden of Christianity

Today I attended a new church in San Diego. I was immediately taken aback when the first 15-20 minutes was centered around donating. It seems that whenever I attend a new church my first litmus test for the direction of the congregation is determined by their relationship with tithes. This focus and symbolic progression of donations before message (which feels as a pay to play setup) left a sour taste in my mouth. Though this was my first impression, I decided to sit there with an open heart and remain for the rest of the service. But as I sat there listening to the pastor, my frustration began to build. All too often, modern non-denominational churches have become indistinguishable from a Tony Robbins presentation. It has become a simple formula for using Christianity to improve your life. Trust in the Lord, and your business will succeed. Trust in the Lord, and your health will improve. Trust in the Lord, and your relationship problems will be resolved. Christianity is presented as a method of personal optimization, with God serving as a means of achieving the life we already want. The focus is overwhelmingly on how becoming a Christian will benefit us.

But when I look at Scripture, however, I see no promises on how being a Christian equates to a comfortable, prosperous or even conventionally “good” life

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

But the standard that Christ sets for us is this

Luke 14:33

In the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.

and in his conversation with the Wealthy Man

Matthew 19:21

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

How many of us would willingly live in poverty? How many would surrender our comfort, possessions, and social standing if following Christ genuinely required it?

It is easy to say that we would give everything to God in the abstract. It is much harder to live as though our possessions, ambitions, and future plans are not entirely our own.

Christian Traditional holds that:

Mark: Dragged Through the Streets in Alexandria until he died

Luke: Hung in Greece

John: Boiled alive in oil but somehow survived and escaped

Peter: Crucified upside down

James: Either Stoned and beaten to death or crucified

James, the Son of Zebedee: Beheaded

Bartholomew: Historians believe he was flayed alive then beheaded

Andrew: Crucified

Jude: Clubbed to death then beheaded

Are you starting to get the picture? The reason I bring these topics up is that I believe that modern non-denominational churches and other sects have completely neglected the concept of ascetism. A church that promises success can fill an auditorium. A church that asks its congregation to take up a cross faces a much harder task. But I believe as Christians, it’s essential to learn how to suffer for Christ and to be worthy of our sufferings. This does not mean that Christianity offers no joy, hope, or peace. It offers all three but not necessarily in the forms the world recognizes. Christian hope is not the promise that everything will work out according to our preferences. Christian hope is the conviction that suffering, loss, and even death cannot separate us from God.