bureaucracy

There's a certain attractiveness to bureaucracy. As in, once you get through it, you feel like you've accomplished something. When really, you've accomplished nothing. The red tape you had to go through makes where you are feel that much more... important?

Case in point. To get a government-issued ID card, you need to fill out a bunch of paperwork, undergo a background check, get your fingerprints and other biometric information taken and stored on the card, etc., etc. This process can take a long time. But once you get it, the card seems that much more valuable. When all it does is... um, identify you. Like any other card would. But if anyone could just step up to a camera, get a card printed in 30 seconds, and be done with it, the card would feel so much less valuable. Even if that card did the exact same thing.

There's no red tape separating me and Christ. No bureaucracy at all. It's freely given. Anyone can get it. There's no sense of exclusivity. And for some reason, that makes me value it less. It's really perverse if you think about it.

We're attracted to exclusivity. And in many cases, we create it ourselves. In a religious context, this might take the form of cults, secret rituals, etc?