Religion can be a costume. Faith is what’s left when you take it off.

The outward parts of religion are easy to wear and easy to mistake for the thing itself. Knowing the songs, the vocabulary and when to nod can be done with nothing underneath, and nobody in the room can tell. What is left on a Tuesday when none of that is being observed is the actual measurement.

Ask yourself what your faith looks like when there is no audience for it at all. Keep whatever survives that and be honest about what does not. Building on the small real part is better than maintaining a convincing larger one.