A friend and I were just discussing religion - a sensitive topic to many people. Some can be quite fanatical, as in they try to convert whoever they see. For me, I converted to my religion out of my own free will (although I do believe there was some divine intervention which caused me to make my choice), so I give the same choice to others. Which means I am not the type to go around preaching or converting everyone I see.
My path has never been easy. An analogy can be the path to true love never did run smooth, there are bound to be trials and challenges along the way. So was my religious journey. I will not say I am that staunch whatsoever, but in light of recent months, religion has played a bigger role in my life, where certain aspects are concerned.
Everyone has a choice, so the least I will like from anyone is to respect my choice of religion, instead of asking or condemning me just because I happen to be in a certain religion or denomination than others. Nobody knows what I have gone through before getting baptised (not that I have gone through anything really drastic, but my church-going days have not been that smooth-sailing), so I do not think anyone is in any position to comment or judge which religion I go into or which church I attend.
However, there have been others I know who give religion a bad name. Some people claim they are so active in church, yet go around leading such a messy life. No doubt the God we are baptised in loves us unconditionally to forgive all our sins and imperfections, but that does not mean we can continue doing the same things and sinning.
I have sinned greatly, and I have confessed. I have felt guilty and bad about my mistake, but I believe I have been forgiven, otherwise I will never have felt in peace. It was due to prayer and lots of support from some people that I managed to survive a messy period, and to that I am eternally grateful. This is a mistake which can never be rectified, but I have promised God that I will never make the same mistake ever again.
But some people, who claim they serve in so many church ministries and are so active in the church activities, go around having one night stands all the time, smoking, gambling, stealing, murdering, doing all the things which the Bible says not to do. These are the real hypocrites - twisting the church's teachings to their own benefits.
Perhaps it is people like these that give Christians per se a bad name? After all, how can one preach that the religion does good, yet behaves in the opposite way? People are quick to generalise and judge, so it will be unfair to the rest of the church-goers if a few black sheep tarnish the images and teachings.
No doubt everyone is supposed to be sinners because we are all imperfect, but that is not to say we deliberately sin in a major way. We can be born with a quick-temper, or with a laid-back attitude that is in our character, but ideally, everyone should work to improve on themselves instead of making things worse. And those who indulge in sin yet still claim to be Christians are really the worst of the lot.
My path has never been easy. An analogy can be the path to true love never did run smooth, there are bound to be trials and challenges along the way. So was my religious journey. I will not say I am that staunch whatsoever, but in light of recent months, religion has played a bigger role in my life, where certain aspects are concerned.
Everyone has a choice, so the least I will like from anyone is to respect my choice of religion, instead of asking or condemning me just because I happen to be in a certain religion or denomination than others. Nobody knows what I have gone through before getting baptised (not that I have gone through anything really drastic, but my church-going days have not been that smooth-sailing), so I do not think anyone is in any position to comment or judge which religion I go into or which church I attend.
However, there have been others I know who give religion a bad name. Some people claim they are so active in church, yet go around leading such a messy life. No doubt the God we are baptised in loves us unconditionally to forgive all our sins and imperfections, but that does not mean we can continue doing the same things and sinning.
I have sinned greatly, and I have confessed. I have felt guilty and bad about my mistake, but I believe I have been forgiven, otherwise I will never have felt in peace. It was due to prayer and lots of support from some people that I managed to survive a messy period, and to that I am eternally grateful. This is a mistake which can never be rectified, but I have promised God that I will never make the same mistake ever again.
But some people, who claim they serve in so many church ministries and are so active in the church activities, go around having one night stands all the time, smoking, gambling, stealing, murdering, doing all the things which the Bible says not to do. These are the real hypocrites - twisting the church's teachings to their own benefits.
Perhaps it is people like these that give Christians per se a bad name? After all, how can one preach that the religion does good, yet behaves in the opposite way? People are quick to generalise and judge, so it will be unfair to the rest of the church-goers if a few black sheep tarnish the images and teachings.
No doubt everyone is supposed to be sinners because we are all imperfect, but that is not to say we deliberately sin in a major way. We can be born with a quick-temper, or with a laid-back attitude that is in our character, but ideally, everyone should work to improve on themselves instead of making things worse. And those who indulge in sin yet still claim to be Christians are really the worst of the lot.
0 comments:
Post a Comment