Is your religion a load or a lift? That was a popular sermon topic during my growing up years. Preachers were fascinated with alliteration: load/lift, and they thought the idea was a catchy one, so I heard more sermons on the subject than I wanted to hear.

Frankly, I never cared much for them. Do you have ideas, like that, that turn you off sometimes? I thought it was a pointless question. I thought the preachers were just setting up straw men only to knock them down again. After all, the answer to the question should be obvious to all Christians. Of course our religion is supposed to be a lift rather than a load. It’s supposed to be a help rather than a hindrance. Why even raise the question? The answer should be obvious!

There was a song we often sang in prayer meeting which proved my …