How Christians Grieve WellНамуна

Getting to Know Religious Parts

Christians you interact with—including those who used to identify as such, but not anymore—likely carry their own religious parts, even if these parts may not always operate in the forefront of their awareness.

We can also detect religious parts within the Bible. For instance, Job’s three friends visited him with their respective religious parts tagging along, getting progressively more vocal as things intensified.

But that brings up a question. How can you tell if you are talking to a religious part? After all, parts do not alert us of their presence. Bildad most likely never informed Job ahead of time, “Heads up, Job, my religious part is about to hijack our conversation.”

One sign you might be conversing with someone else’s religious part is insensitivity. For instance, after enduring the tragic deaths of his children (Job 1:18-19), Job felt suicidal (Job 6:8-9). But notice how his friend, Bildad, responded. “Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice? If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for their transgression” (Job 8:3-4 NKJV).

Translation: God killed your kids because they sinned, Job.

We know Bildad’s religious part formulated his answer because he offered no empathy for Job’s plight. Neither did he express appreciation for Job’s transparency regarding his suffering. Instead, Bildad insisted in informing Job how his sons perished because of their own sins, which made him seem uncaring.

It is mandatory for Christians to treat everyone with kindness and compassion (Ephesians 4:32). If God’s command is to love everyone, including those who hate us (Matthew 5:43-48), then by definition, we are also to love those who are mourning.

Be curious as you read today’s New Testament Scriptures. Are you tempted to refute these verses if it means being kind to those who are weepy or moody because of their loss?

Perhaps your patience runs thin because they have been grieving for far too long. Or perhaps it is you who are grieving—and you find it hard to extend compassion to yourself. Ask

God to illuminate the presence of the religious part within your soul by echoing David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23.

As we delve deeper into this reading plan, let’s set an intention to approach our religious parts with an open heart.