Here is a question to “test” your faith: If a haggard looking soul with sores all over his body and obviously dehydrated and starving to death stumbled up to you; what would you do?
Pull out a Bible and start yelling at him to repent for all the sin in his life which brought upon him all these horrible curses.
Ignore him and let someone else take care of him for you don’t have time to get involved lest you be late to church.
Take him to an Emergency Room to receive evaluation and treatment for medical conditions.
Take him to a shelter for the indigent.
Take him home, feed him, bathe him, share with him the story of Jesus and pray with him.
Why do we make everything so hard? The obvious answer to this question is #5. Yet, obvious or not, the number of Christians who would actually ever do such a thing would maybe be 1 in a thousand. The truth in the matter is that almost every Christian would do exactly what any unbeliever with a little compassion would do, and that is either #3 or #4. Of course a few zealots would do #1, but I don’t want to go on this post lest I never come back.
What do we Christians offer, if we do nothing differently than those in the world for those who are hurting? The typical Christian response to a disaster such as Hurricane Ike is to drop some old clothes off at Goodwill and write a check to the American Red Cross or Salvation Army and move on with life. With conscience appeased and back sufficiently patted for being such a “good person”, the average Christian will go his merry way and never think or pray again about the situation.
Aren’t we supposed to manifest the love and compassion of Christ as Christians? When confronted with need, aren’t we supposed to reach out and help with the love of Christ? Where and how Christianity turned into merely a meeting place for theological discussion is beyond me. Where and how Christianity turned into a building frequented once per week for worship services is beyond me. Where and how Christianity turned into a heartless and dead religion is beyond me.
For the most part, the “Christian Religion” is totally heartless and completely dead. There is basically no life and very little love manifested. There are only motions to be gone through and facades to be put up and hypocritical lies to be told. The “Christian Religion” is merely a convenient front to hide behind, masking the spiritual indifference and dead works of the actor using it to “look good”.
The hearts of many of God’s people have turned cold as ice and hard as rocks. The willingness to give is strictly dependent on how much remains after indulging in everything that appeases the lust of the flesh and of the eyes. Charitable giving is relegated to nothing more than the scraps left over after the feast. Truly the pompous attitude manifested by those who practice the “Christian Religion” is sickening.
Notice all these things I am saying are directed at those who practice the “Christian Religion”. There is little comparison between that which parades around claiming to be Christian and that which is Christianity INDEED. True Christianity loves not in word, but in DEED. True Christianity doesn’t just talk about helping people—it gets out there and does it.
I hate to keep beating a dead fish here, but unless Christians step up and start willingly putting others ahead of themselves all that will be left is Christian religiosity. Anybody can say anything that sounds good and in the process fool many people. But they can never fool themselves and they can never fool God. As Christians, we should willingly and freely give because of the appreciation and love in our hearts for all our Savior did for us.
There is a huge chasm between the branches of Christianity which seek to manifest compassion towards those who are in need and those which seek only to continually bless and take care of themselves. On another site, I was appalled to read someone make the statement that God wants Christians rich so they can impress the unbelievers and win them to Christ.
There are Christians who believe they are on earth to stockpile riches, live in mansions Donald Trump would envy, drive $100,000 cars and spend months each year relaxing on yachts. All the while, they wouldn’t freely give a nickel to anyone unless they got an IRS write off or a building named after them. God may very well bless someone with material wealth, but if it was really God blessing them, He expects the person to SHARE that which He gave with those who need it.
Religion talks about God, Christ and religious things but never lives them or does anything spiritual. Godliness knows God, Christ and spiritual things and lives them. God needs Christians who are Godly not religious. I pray He finds some who are willing to take up His cause and forsaking all, follow Him. There is a world of hurting, angry and confused people out there who, as Steve Green once sang about, “need the Lord”.
It is very refreshing to read thoughts like this. Convicting… but I think it is a message that the church today needs to hear. Thank you.
i do agree,however,not all christians are able to do a whole lot today.the apostles are the best example of true christians . they weren’t,however, bound to home and family.they didn’t have the various obligations and the kind of economy we have today.what gets me are these people that claim that all christians have the same mission.
my 83 year old mother prays and helps her friends that don’t have transportation as she drives them where they need to go now and then.she tithes.but she doesn’t go out of her way to go downtown and help with the homeless ,etc…sure she could if she wanted i guess.but the fact that she does not,doesn’t mean that she’s not doing god’s will.there are actually alot of people out there(christians)who would say because she can and doesn’t that she’s not a true christian.i,however believe that christians who would think that way are the kinds of christians that have been drinking ‘kool-aid’ as bill o’reilly would say..somewhere ‘out there’ but not in reality/.too many ministers today put forth blanket statements about christians and what god’s will is for them.too many ministers take christian individuality away from people by claiming “all are supposed to do this and do that and not do this and not do that.they use the scripture “one in spirit and mind” bull corn..i’ve been a christian since 17 years old.i’ve been unemployed since i was 21 years old with a sleep disorder. while i obey the 10 commandments and listen to god’s voice daily and his will for me,i still listen to the the rock music i listened to in my teens and early 20’s.i still watch horror movies.god hasn’t convicted me over most of those things. some things yes others no.of course i always am confronted by the legalist behaviour and attitude of evangelicals as i change channels on tv..i listen to hard rock,so “i’m not going to see the face of god”,etc,etc..this isa legalistic belief.if god convicted me i’d then be disobedient.not until then.
i hate religion.i don’t go to church anymore .i watch the few i trust when changing channels.i read and study..i don’t know if i pray,cause i call it talking to christ and i do it as soon as i wake up every day/i continue talking to him through the day just as one would talk to a visitor in their house./
i have a literal relationship with him…if i can’t find something i’m looking for in the house,i simply ask god to lead me to where it is(what i’m looking for)and always within seconds or minutes i find exactly what i was looking for.and usually ,the way in whichi find the object ,is so unusual that it’s obvous that i was lead to it./
okay,
that’s a rather tedious explanation(and bizarre)but i’m trying to point out what kind of relationship i have with the lord.
it’s personal..like he’s my best friend and lover…my fisrt love..not a character from a childrens bible book.sometimes i wonder if alot of christians have that kind of notion about god and jesus..a character from a book with rules and advice with drawings and illustrations of the ark and moses holding a tablet of stone.but not a real personal relationship.only what they’re taught to believe without truly believing it.
i don’t blame those people.i blame the kind of churches that i went through for so many years.
so much of can’t do this ’s and can’t do that’s,blaming a christians failings on their rock music or bruce willis movies ,etc. what a shame.i listen to not only the same music i listened to as a youngster(btw,i’m 54 now),i also listen to the current rock music as well as the newest movies out today.but the difference is i gave the lord permission to take the interest from me if it be his will.whatever portion of interest he took was okay with me.he didn’t take much..in fact only once in a while,will i turn the channel to a movie or a sitcom that the holy spirit will tell me “let’s not watch this okay?” and i’ll obey immediately/.god let me know that he didn’t care about sacrifice but the fact that i was willing to be obedient!!
i understood then exactly what he meant when he said that a long time ago.it’s in the bible but i never understood it very well before.now i do./
obedience is better than sacrifice..it’s because if you’re in obedience,you’ll hear his voice when he says yep or nope.like a real relationship.not legalism/.
but i also pray a whole lot cause of the fact i do hear his voice as well as the fact that his spirit flows through my veins. funny..i pray for people that i see on the evening newscasts that are involved in accidents,assaults,starving,in need of money..love..whatever/.
i found that most christians find that strange.
needless to say i don’t have alot of friends. the enemy tries and tries to put me down but i learned a long time ago how to fight and how to wear my armour and how to use my sword.
not alot of yelling and screaming. a simple threat to kick bottom in the name of jesus and the devil takes off a running.
i don’t have trials every single day but enough/.
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i enjoy this site..god bless you and you’re not alone in your walk.and in your understanding the vagueness of today’s christian society in the usa.of course there are true christians out there.but not enough that we’re likely to pass many by as we walk around shopping or whatever we do out in the world on a daily basis.(some,but certainly not a vast lot)
i have alot of posessions..wide screen tv,mp3 players,..tons of audio and video equipment,dvd’s,cd’s
i live in a beautiful townhome.but when christ takes me it’s all staying here and i absolutely don’t care..i don’t want to take ANY of it!!!
the only reason i’m maybe going to look back as i’m taken up straight away,is to wave good riddance to this place.
and i’m curious about cars on the highway crashing into one another..kinda cool..
hehehehe(too many action movies).
god bless you..keep this site updated..i’ll be back frequently!