Stop Saying It’s My Hard-Earned Money!

            What’s wrong in saying ‘it’s my hard-earned money’? After all, you have worked very hard to earn it.

            Some people work extra long hours. They hardly sleep. Such is their work or such is their need to work long and arduous hours.

            Then there are those who sacrifice much to work. Because of their work demands, these good people sacrifice even the comfort of being with their family. They work abroad while their family stays back in their homeland. They work in such dreadfully deplorable work situations. They earn a mere pittance. Why is it wrong for them to say it’s their hard-earned money?

            To refer to our income as our hard-earned money is indeed a pragmatic perspective.

            However, the phrase it’s my hard-earned money would be incomplete and even disingenuous from a Christian perspective. Hence, I suggest that we remove the phrase it’s my hard-earned money from our vocabulary.

            Why?

            Life is a prerequisite to work. We need to live to work.

            However, we have absolutely no control over our lives. In fact, we cannot be certain of our existence through the next minute. Such is the temporal nature of our life. The Bible assures us about the fleeting nature of our life:

            “For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall…”” (1 Peter 1:24, NIV).

            “You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes.” (James 4: 14, NET).

            God gives us life. Our birth and death are determined by God. Consider these verses:

            “The Lord brings death and makes alive…” (1 Samuel 2: 6a, NIV).

            “All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind…” (John 1: 3-4, NET).

            “…because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone…” (Acts 17: 25, NET).

            So it is certain that in order to work, we need life and that life is given by God. In other words, God enables us to live and work.

            God blesses us with health. Mere life is not sufficient for us to work. Health is a very important prerequisite to function normally and admirably. This too is a blessing from God, “The Lord will protect you from all sickness, and you will not experience any of the terrible diseases… (Deuteronomy 7: 15a, NET; cf. Jeremiah 33: 6; Proverbs 3: 8, 4: 22; 3 John 1: 2).

            A healthy life is a basic necessity to work well. It is God who blesses us with a healthy life.

            Need we ponder more!

            It is adequately established that in order for us to go to work (forget about working well), we are absolutely dependent on God.

            God’s blessing enables us to go to work.

            Now comes the part where we ought to work well to earn our income. The possibility of joblessness will loom large if we do not work well.

            Who then provides us with the necessary abilities to excel in our workplace?

            A successful surgeon should be able to focus well on the surgery for long hours without losing his concentration. A mere slip could be costly.

            A dentist’s hands ought to be absolutely sensitive to the patient’s dental requirements. (A mere slip of the dentist’s hands could render the patient toothless.)

            Then there are good teachers and not-so-good teachers. Dedicated and knowledgeable teachers are good teachers.

            Knowledge, wisdom and all other attributes necessary to work well comes from God, “The Lord’s Spirit will rest on him — Spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a Spirit that provides the ability to execute plans…” (Isaiah 11: 2, NET; cf. Proverbs 2: 6).

            So we are absolutely dependent on God to work well.

            Our income is predicated on the extent of success we enjoy at our workplace.

            God blesses us with success, “The Lord grants success to the one whose behavior he finds commendable.” (Psalm 37: 23, NET).

            We pray to God for success, “May our Sovereign God extend his favor to us. Make our endeavors successful.” (Psalm 90: 17, NET cf. Psalm 118: 25; Proverbs 16: 20).

            Think about it. We are absolutely dependent on God for life, health, and success, which are the prerequisites to work well in order to earn money.

            How then can we claim that it’s our hard-earned money?

            Our money is a blessing from God.

            So it’s not my hard-earned money.

            Whenever we mention our money, let our statements honor and glorify God.

            We could say, God blessed me to work hard and earn money or By the grace of God I was able to work hard and earn money or another similar variant.

            But let us honor and glorify God with our money and all references to it.

Why Don’t Most Churches Teach The Bible?

           The Bible should be studied, not read. Unless the Bible is studied, its rich content cannot be understood. The Bible is the Word of God; the 66 books that make up the Bible belong to different genres, or types, of text (Narrative, Poetry, Wisdom, Prophecy, Gospels, Epistles, and Apocalypse). One cannot understand poetry as he/she understands a narrative. Hence the need to study the Bible gains greater credibility.  

            Christians’ faith in God and their relationship with God is always consistent with the extent and intensity of their Bible study. It’s more likely that the Christians’ relationship with God be deeper and better if their study of the Bible is rigorous. This is a no-brainer.

            The term ‘churches’ in the title refers only to those churches subscribing to Historic Christianity. Hence, it does not include the postmodern, the liberal, the progressive or the emergent churches. So the title, “Why Don’t Most Churches Teach The Bible?” incriminates only those churches subscribing to Historic Christianity that do not teach the Bible.

            Quite a few churches take great effort to teach the Bible to its members. These churches preach from the Bible and they conduct sincere and intense Bible study programs. Blessed are those who utilize these opportunities to study the Bible. Even those worshipping in such churches are blessed because they have a convenient opportunity to study the Bible.

            However, many churches do not teach the Bible to its members. Hence, those worshipping in these churches are deprived of an opportunity to study the Bible.

Why Don’t Churches Teach The Bible?

            Indifferent Pastor: The pastor is the leader of the church. If the pastor is not keen on teaching the Bible to its members, then, more often than not, the church would not teach the Bible.

            There are many reasons for a pastor to be indifferent towards teaching the Bible. A pastor may not have the time to prepare for the Bible study or he may have other priorities. But the fact remains that he is indifferent to the importance of Bible study, hence his church does not focus on teaching the Bible to its members.

            Institutional Church: If the church remains bogged down in a package of programs, committees, policies, team, ministries, initiatives, budgets and events, then the church may be an institutional church or on its way to being one. There’s nothing different between this church and an organization.

            A church is an institutional church when its primary agenda is in the material, and not in the spiritual. Such a church would not be interested in Bible study since it is not interested in the spiritual growth of its members. Instead, the church would be scrupulously interested in its material growth (number of people attending the church, increased offering, and the likes).

            Ignorant Members: The Bible is filled with unpleasant truths. For instance, the Bible unequivocally states that unless a person believes in Christ, he/she cannot inherit eternal life. But a convenient lie to mask this unpleasant truth is that God saves everyone – those who believe in Christ and those who do not. This convenient lie is the doctrine of universalism or inclusivism.

            There are churches that choose to not preach the unpleasant truths. Instead, they preach the convenient lie. Such a church would rather let its members remain ignorant of the Bible. An ignorant mind cannot distinguish between a lie and the truth so it will accept the convenient lie as the truth. Hence the church leadership will have an easy time preaching the convenient lies.

            Intimacy With Culture: If the church prefers to be intimate with the popular culture, then it will refrain from teaching the Bible. However, the Bible consistently opposes the popular culture.

            If the popular idea is to accept homosexuality, a church that desires to be intimate with the culture would approve and endorse homosexuality. Such a church would not desire to teach the Bible since the Bible is explicit in its condemnation of homosexuality.

What About Small Group Bible Study?

            Some churches promote small groups within their congregation to teach the Bible. How effective are these small groups?

            Small group Bible studies can be very effective if there is a strong leader to lead the Bible study. Any small group will be effective only if the leader excels in teaching the Bible and guiding the Bible study.

            A temptation the devil throws at the small group Bible studies is to morph it into a social group where friendships, business collaborations, and whatnot, are cultivated diligently. Small group Bible studies will always need to fight the good fight to remain a Bible study group instead of morphing into a social outfit.

            Small group Bible study would also do better if it manages its time effectively. Any effective Bible study requires a minimum of 60 minutes to a maximum of 90 minutes per session.

            Bible study should consume the entire 60-90 minutes. Singing, prayer etc. should be outside this time. Anything less than 60-90 minutes for Bible study cannot lead to an effective study.

            The small group Bible study should meet every week. Apart from meeting every week, there should be homework for the participants to keep them engaged in the study during the week.

What If You Are Worshipping In A Church That Does Not Focus On Bible Study?

            Approach your church leadership and request them to begin a Bible study program. If they do not implement your sustained request, then you are probably left without an option but to look out for a private Bible study program or another church. 

Biblical Illiteracy Is Hurting Christians Big Time

            Almost every Christian home owns a Bible, but how many Christians actually read the Bible? Statistics reveal very poor results! Majority of Christians do not read their Bible.

            It seems Christians do not have an urge or a desire to read the Bible. That deep desire to read and study the Bible seems to be lost in time.

            Here’s another perspective. If a lay Christian is in conversation with his Muslim friend about Jesus, it is exceedingly possible that the Muslim friend knows more about the Bible than the Christian. This is the plight of Christians today.

            An article in Christianity Today, authored by Ed Stetzer, emphasizes the problem of biblical illiteracy with facts:¹

Christians claim to believe the Bible is God's Word. We claim it's God's divinely inspired, inerrant message to us. Yet despite this, we aren't reading it. A recent LifeWay Research study found only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. Over 40 percent of the people attending read their Bible occasionally, maybe once or twice a month. Almost 1 in 5 churchgoers say they never read the Bible—essentially the same number who read it every day.

Because we don't read God's Word, it follows that we don't know it. To understand the effects, we can look to statistics of another Western country: the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom Bible Society surveyed British children and found many could not identify common Bible stories. When given a list of stories, almost 1 in 3 didn't choose the Nativity as part of the Bible and over half (59 percent) didn't know that Jonah being swallowed by the great fish is in the Bible.

British parents didn't do much better. Around 30 percent of parents don't know Adam and Eve, David and Goliath, or the Good Samaritan are in the Bible. To make matters worse, 27 percent think Superman is or might be a biblical story. More than 1 in 3 believes the same about Harry Potter. And more than half (54 percent) believe The Hunger Games is or might be a story from the Bible.

            Biblical illiteracy is an epidemic that continues to soar. It is not limited to the USA or UK. This is a worldwide phenomenon. Biblical illiteracy may even be prevalent in our homes.

            Why should we read the Bible? If we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, then as God’s people, we ought to know God’s Word. Significantly, God has commanded us to learn HIS Word.

            Today, we have unlimited access to the Bible, yet we do not read it. An article from Biola University reveals why we should read the Bible:²

In the book of Amos, people who experienced a “famine of hearing the words of the Lord” are portrayed as undergoing divine judgment. Amos paints a picture of people without access to God’s revelation searching for a message from God like desperate people — hungry and dehydrated — in search of food and water (Amos 8:11–12). In Amos they want it, but are not permitted it. In our case, although we have unlimited access, we often don’t want it…

When God commissioned Joshua (the son of Nun), he charged him with these words: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it” (Josh. 1:8). How often should you meditate on it? Day and night. Why? So that you do what is in it.

The Old Testament book of Psalms leads off with these words:

          Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. (Ps. 1:1–3)

And in another psalm: “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97). Have you ever wondered how it could be his meditation all the day? The psalmist didn’t have the Bible on his smart phone. Did he carry around a big scroll under his arm? No, he had memorized the passages he was meditating on and was thinking about them. He had committed large sections of the Bible to memory…

Are you aware that the New Testament authors included in their writings more than 300 direct quotations from the Old Testament writers — not counting hundreds of other allusions and echoes of Old Testament language? There is no evidence that any of these authors actually looked up the references as they wrote. They simply knew their Bibles — that is, the parts of the Bible that had already been written. How did they come to know it so well? They worked on it “day and night.” They saturated themselves in it. (Emphasis Mine).

            What are the effects of Biblical illiteracy? Ed Stetzer says that those who do not read the Bible could easily be deceived by the plethora of false doctrines that are in vogue today, “…Our lack of biblical literacy has led to a lack of biblical doctrine. LifeWay Research found that while 67 percent of Americans believe heaven is a real place, 45 percent believe there are many ways to get there—including 1 in 5 evangelical Christians. More than half of evangelicals (59 percent) believe the Holy Spirit is a force and not a personal being—in contrast to the orthodox biblical teaching of the Trinity being three Persons in one God. As a whole, Americans, including many Christians, hold unbiblical views on hell, sin, salvation, Jesus, humanity, and the Bible itself.”³

            If we do not know the biblical doctrine, we could believe in any false doctrine as if it were the biblical doctrine. The danger of not knowing the truth is that we could believe in falsehood as if it were the truth. Truth cannot contain even a speck of falsehood in it. But falsehood could have one or more strands of the truth. However, falsehood will remain a falsehood despite the presence of one or more strands of the truth.

            How could we recognize a false doctrine when we are oblivious to the truth? Unless the truth is in us, we can never identify a false doctrine. If we do not read the Bible, we would not know the truth. This is the primary reason why so many Christians believe in false doctrines. 

            What are the churches doing? Churches are one of the most significant reasons for this debacle says Albert Mohler, “Christians who lack biblical knowledge are the products of churches that marginalize biblical knowledge. Bible teaching now often accounts for only a diminishing fraction of the local congregation’s time and attention. The move to small group ministry has certainly increased opportunities for fellowship, but many of these groups never get beyond superficial Bible study.

            Youth ministries are asked to fix problems, provide entertainment, and keep kids busy. How many local-church youth programs actually produce substantial Bible knowledge in young people?

            Even the pulpit has been sidelined in many congregations. Preaching has taken a back seat to other concerns in corporate worship. The centrality of biblical preaching to the formation of disciples is lost, and Christian ignorance leads to Christian indolence and worse.” (Emphasis Mine).⁴

            How do we overcome this biblical illiteracy epidemic? Those who haven’t read the Bible tend to think that Sodom and Gomorrah were a married couple! Unless we read the Bible, we cannot think and believe in the truth.

            Albert Mohler believes that the ball is in our court i.e. the Christian’s court:⁵

This really is our problem, and it is up to this generation of Christians to reverse course. Recovery starts at home. Parents are to be the first and most important educators of their own children, diligently teaching them the Word of God. [See Deuteronomy 6:4-9.] Parents cannot franchise their responsibility to the congregation, no matter how faithful and biblical it may be. God assigned parents this non-negotiable responsibility, and children must see their Christian parents as teachers and fellow students of God’s Word.

Churches must recover the centrality and urgency of biblical teaching and preaching, and refuse to sideline the teaching ministry of the preacher. Pastors and churches too busy–or too distracted–to make biblical knowledge a central aim of ministry will produce believers who simply do not know enough to be faithful disciples.

We will not believe more than we know, and we will not live higher than our beliefs. The many fronts of Christian compromise in this generation can be directly traced to biblical illiteracy in the pews and the absence of biblical preaching and teaching in our homes and churches.

This generation must get deadly serious about the problem of biblical illiteracy, or a frighteningly large number of Americans–Christians included–will go on thinking that Sodom and Gomorrah lived happily ever after.

            Finally and more importantly, let’s not blame our parents or our churches for not teaching us the Bible. Let’s blame ourselves.

            Unless we have a great love and a burning desire to read and study the Bible, we would not listen to our parents or our church leaders, even if they teach us the Bible. If we do not read our Bible, our love for the Lord our God is seriously lacking. So if we do not read the Bible, then let us repent of our sin and begin to read and study God’s Word.

Endnotes:

¹https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/july/epidemic-of-bible-illiteracy-in-our-churches.html

²http://magazine.biola.edu/article/14-spring/the-crisis-of-biblical-illiteracy/

³https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/july/epidemic-of-bible-illiteracy-in-our-churches.html

⁴https://albertmohler.com/2016/01/20/the-scandal-of-biblical-illiteracy-its-our-problem-4/

⁵Ibid.

More Garbage From Oprah Winfrey In “A Wrinkle In Time”

            The movie “A Wrinkle in Time” focuses on girls and it urges them to pursue their passions, “…Tapping into your light. Letting it shine no matter the circumstances.”¹ Oprah Winfrey, who stars in this movie, echoes a similar message.

            How should Christians, especially young Christian girls, absorb this message? Is Oprah making sense? Georgi Boorman’s article in The Federalist addresses this topic.² Read on…   

            “A Wrinkle in Time” is getting panned by critics, but that hasn’t deterred Oprah Winfrey from proselytizing the message of the movie as she sees it.

            A 14-year-old girl asked Oprah for advice for young girls “who want to make a difference in the world.” This girl raised over $50,000 to send other girls to see the movie, which Oprah stars in.

            To answer her, Oprah tapped into the prophetic gift that’s bestowed on all celebrities with the requisite daytime talk shows and book clubs:

            “The highest honor on earth that you will ever have is the honor of being yourself. And your only job in the world is to figure out, that’s what this movie is about — people think your job is to get up and go and raise money and take care of your family — that’s an obligation that you have, but your only true job as a human being is to discover why you came, why you are here.

            And every one of us has an internal guidance, a GPS, an intuition, a heart print, a heartsong that speaks to us. Your only job is to be able to listen and discern when it’s speaking versus when your head and your personality is speaking. And if you follow that, you will be led to the highest good for you. Always.”

            When a sweet pile of word garbage is dumped into your ears like that, you might wonder how the daytime prophetess could possibly have the millions of followers she does. Really, her message isn’t that much different than the typical self-worship your kids hear in Disney movies. “Follow your heart,” and “be yourself” are the proverbs of the age.

            It doesn’t sound as bad when it’s put into a story, because those stories all have happy endings. But when Oprah lays it out like a Sunday morning sermon, it’s easier to see how terrible this advice really is.

            Let’s review, starting with Oprah’s idea of “highest honor.”

            The highest honor on earth is not to be yourself, because you are wretched: You lie and you cheat and you hurt even the people that you love. You break your promises. You are selfish and greedy.

            Sure, you have a few talents, a few crumbs of wisdom, a few bright spots in your totally depraved heart. But are they enough to nominate you for “the highest honor?” No. This is advice from a bubble world devoid of red editing pens and full of participation trophies — the world millennials were raised in, and that our own kids are being raised in.

            Telling someone they’re a double rainbow of awesomeness is not going to encourage them to improve. Actually, studies have shown that most subpar workers believe they’re doing a good job. It’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect, and we need less of this, not more. But this only comes with honesty about our shortcomings, not the lie that simply “being ourselves” is worthy of the highest honor.

            Maybe what Oprah really means is that we shouldn’t be “fake.” We shouldn’t try to be someone we’re not. Yes, honesty is honorable, but being honest has to include acknowledging how awful we are. And if we acknowledge how awful we are, we quickly realize that being our “authentic selves” shouldn’t earn us any special honors.

            Oprah would have you claim that you are the highest value and set yourself up as a god. Pride is the original sin, and you might remember it didn’t work out so well for the first guy who tried it.

            This idolatry is just the beginning of Oprah’s bad advice, though. She goes on to claim that our only true job in the world is to “discover who we are, why we’re here.” It’s not wrong to seek answers to those questions. Actually finding that answer, realizing who you are in relation to God, will ultimately lead you to eternal life. But Oprah isn’t preaching the gospel here. She’s already implied that this spiritual journey of sorts is personal, and so everyone’s answer is unique. You only need follow your “internal GPS” to find your “highest good.”

            But your highest good can’t be found by geocaching the depths of your heart. As the prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick — who can understand it?”

            The problem isn’t that Oprah is telling this young woman to find what’s good for her. She should. The problem is that she’s telling her to follow a compass with a false north, and it will lead her in the opposite direction of her “highest good,” or for that matter, the good of everyone her life touches.

            Oprah is perhaps the world’s foremost purveyor of “sola feels” doctrine: the idea that truth is “personal” and subjective, and that feelings should be your ultimate guide in life. But the heart doesn’t lead us to what is good, for us or anyone else — it is ever inclined towards evil. Oprah believes Jesus came to “show us the way of the heart.” Well, here’s what Jesus had to say about the heart: “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come — sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.”

            If you make “finding yourself” and “following your heart” your chief priority in life, above family, friends, work, and everything else, it will be your destruction. Sure, Oprah says making money to care for your family is “an obligation,” but what if your heartsong is telling you to abandon your job and your family to become an artist with a live-in lover in Paris? Should you follow your heartsong then?

            There is no “heartsong.” There is no inner voice guiding you toward your highest good, because the “heart” is just a synonym for our feelings. A feeling about something is not enough to make an informed decision on whether a given action is good or bad, and it certainly shouldn’t be the deciding factor in any significant life choices.

            Perhaps that is why so many young people seem directionless — passionless, even. Maybe it’s why they are paralyzed by indecision, drifting from job to job, never quite satisfied with what they’re doing, consistently putting off milestones like marriage and childrearing. Perhaps that is why they take “gap years” to “discover themselves,” as Oprah encourages. If you sit around waiting for your heart to tell you what to do, you’ll be directionless forever.

            And yet, Oprah not only encourages listening to the murmurs of your flighty heart, but prioritizing that murmur above what your head or “your personality” tell you. Essentially, she is telling this young woman to feel instead of think.

            It doesn’t get more “sola feels” than that. Your mind and your personality are going to do a much better job guiding your life and helping you change the world than the whimsical notes of your “heartsong.” Finding work that suits your personality and engages your mind will be far more satisfying than straining to hear the imaginary whispers of your heart. Working hard at that job, whether it’s the job that puts food on your family’s table or not, will do more to change the world than all the feels you could possibly feel.

            Work that suits you won’t always be fun. Even “dream jobs” are grueling at times, and that’s yet another reason not to follow your heart. Your heart wants to be thrilled and fully content all the time, and it will roam from place to place, person to person, looking for that fulfillment until the day you die. Your feelings can prompt you to take ridiculous risks, to break other’s hearts, and to abandon responsibilities.

            So you should do the opposite, as Jordan Peterson suggests, and “take some bloody responsibility.” That is your calling, and your “internal GPS” won’t lead you to it. Do right by your family, your friends, your employers and your community, and you will benefit from it, perhaps more than anyone else. Regardless of whether you find a vocation beyond being a mother, father, provider, or simply a good citizen, responsibility anchors your life when a torrent of deceptive feelings would try to uproot it.

            If there is a “true job,” it’s to take responsibility for your life, for your sins, for the people who depend on you.

            Ultimately, the concept of responsibility, of “obligation,” is what cracks Oprah’s crackpot advice wide open. If our only job is to follow our hearts, how do we know that this traditional “job” of making money and caring for family is an obligation? Isn’t that an idea imposed on us from the outside?

            She even uses the GPS as an analogy for this internal “guidance,” but it seems she doesn’t actually know how a GPS works. The receiver triangulates your position based on the position of at least three satellites orbiting the earth. Precise distances from the satellites must be known for your receiver to tell you where you are. A receiver out of sight of the satellites can’t tell you your location, where your destination is, or how to reach it. You need objective data from above to figure that out. So if Oprah was true to her own analogy, she’d be telling us to turn to objective, external truth, not to our hearts.

            America’s life guru can’t fully adopt her own garbage advice. Reality is poking through from the back of that underutilized mind. Yes, we have obligations imposed on us from society and from God’s law, and those obligations derive from eternal, objective truths. Living by those truths will bring both personal fulfillment and positive change in the world.

            Morality is a blessing no “heartsong” can match, and we’d do well to let it guide us.

Endnotes:

¹http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/wrinkle-time-director-advises-young-girls-light-shine/story?id=53548795

²http://thefederalist.com/2018/03/09/oprahs-advice-to-follow-your-heartsong-is-garbage-heres-why/  

Should We Die For The Sake Of Our Religion? Is Truth Worth Dying For?

            Would sincere Christians sacrifice their lives for the sake of God? Yes, they may. Very minimally, they may proclaim to lay down their lives, although it remains to be seen whether they would sacrifice their lives or not.

            The sacrifice posited in this instance precludes injuring or killing of harmless people i.e. this sacrifice has nothing to do with any form of terrorism. A Christian’s life could be placed in harm’s way either due to active proselytization or persecution.

            This phenomenon of sacrificing one’s life is not merely limited to Christianity, but people belonging to a wide spectrum of religions have, in the past, sacrificed or committed to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their religious beliefs. This prompts us to ask whether placing our lives in harm’s way is appropriate for the sake of our religious beliefs.

            This question gains further credence because every religion contradicts the other. Although each religion posits various truth-claims, they need not be truthful, especially when they contradict each other in vital theological themes such as Godhead, salvation, afterlife etc. Therefore, when two religions contradict each other, both these religions cannot be true. Religion ‘A’ could be truthful or religion ‘B’; alternatively, neither religion ‘A’ nor religion ‘B’ could be truthful, for they may both be false. But both religions cannot be truthful at the same time when they contradict each other.

            If every religion contradicts the other, it is quite plausible to think that there is only one religion that is truthful and one can die for the sake of that religion. Dying for the sake of contradicting religious beliefs is unnecessary and futile.

            Furthermore, it is only reasonable to think that those who have sacrificed their lives for the sake of their religious belief were absolutely convinced of their belief - they believed in the truth and nothing but the truth [of their religious belief].

            But is it possible for anyone to be absolutely convinced (having 100% conviction) that their belief is 100% factual? I do not think so! None of us can ever be 100% convinced of our religious beliefs and on our own accord.

            However, a conclusion that our religious beliefs are unwarranted or irrational cannot be true even if it is predicated on a premise that we cannot be 100% convinced of our religious beliefs. For anyone to be 100% convinced of their religious beliefs, all they need is reasonable answers to the difficult questions that attempt to debunk their religious belief.

            But even the viewpoint that we only need reasonable answers to be 100% convinced of our religious belief could be a very dangerous position. How many of us have reasonable answers to the difficult questions against our religious belief? Only a small minority and these people are often termed as scholars or serious/fulltime religious thinkers.

            Please do not include your pastor in this category. Pastors need not necessarily have all the answers to every difficult question. I am not saying that Pastors need not have the answers. I am only saying that they may not have the answers to every question that plagues your searching and seeking mind. Ideally, they should have all the answers, but sadly, they may not.

            Therefore, if only scholars or serious/fulltime religious thinkers have reasonable answers to every difficult question, how is it possible for an average worshipper to be confident that he/she is 100% convinced of his/her religious belief?

            It is impossible for an average worshipper to have 100% conviction in his/her religious belief because he/she may not have thought through these questions and hence he/she may not have reasonable answers to every pertinent difficult question against his/her religion.

            If this is the case, is it not asinine of an average religious believer to place his/her life in harm’s way when he/she is not fully convinced of his/her religious belief?

            Do not misunderstand me when I say that we need to have reasonable answers to the difficult questions that attempt to debunk our religious belief. I do not mean to say that you and I need to have reasonable answers to all the difficult questions.

            For instance, you and I need to be able to provide an answer to anyone who questions the validity of our religious beliefs. In other words, we need to know and be able to communicate the answer to the question, “Why is Christianity true?”

            Go to any church and ask this question to the leadership and the average worshipper, I am quite sure that a majority of Christians would not be able to offer a rational defense or a reasonable answer.

            If this is the case, how many Christians would be willing to lay down their lives for the sake of God? The answer is quite simple – only a minority (cf. John 6:66). (Please do not think that the leadership of the churches would fill up this minority. The leadership may only fill a few seats in this group whereas the average worshippers, who are sincere in their faith, would form the majority.)

            Does Christianity mandate you to die for the sake of God? First, martyrdom is not an alien concept in Christianity. Christians have been killed for their witness. History is replete with instances of Christians being killed for the sake of their faith. The Bible records instances where God’s people were martyred for the sake of their belief. The stoning of Stephen is one such narrative recorded in the Bible (Acts 7). It’s important to note that not all Christians will die for the sake of God, but some most certainly would be called for.

            Second, those who have suffered and persecuted (martyred) for the sake of Christ are blessed and God is pleased with them (Psalm 116:15; 1 Matthew 5:11-12; 1 Peter 4:14, 16; Revelation 20:4). So suffering and dying for the sake of God is mandated for some people, not all.

            Third, if God is pleased with the death of HIS saints and if some Christians are called to die for the sake of God, then you and I should be ready to die if and when we are called to. This is our most appropriate response to God.

            Finally, what will happen to our family if we are called to die for the sake of God? God, whom we love, honor, obey and worship, will never leave us nor forsake us. HE will provide for our family. Moreover, God’s people - our brothers and sisters – who would have been variously equipped by God, should provide for those families whose members have been martyred for the sake of Christ. 

God’s Mandate To Prosperous Christians

            It is absolutely incorrect to think that God only blesses those who love HIM. The Bible confirms God’s gracious blessing to everyone – believers and unbelievers. Matthew 5:45 proclaims God’s graciousness upon one and all, “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Then there is the familiar theme that always confounds us – the prosperity of the wicked (cf. Psalm 73)! So it’s rather obvious that God blesses both the believers and the unbelievers.

            To be blessed is to be more than happy. Happiness, unfortunately, is rooted, in a worldly sense, in our physical/material and emotional wellness. But the blessing, in the biblical sense, is to be spiritually joyous and peaceful.

            Consider blessings from a worldly sense. Unbelievers disregard God’s causal role in their blessings. Hence they, of their own volition, dispense their blessings. But what Christians do with their blessings matters much, since the Bible teaches that all blessings are from God (James 1:17).

            We experience God’s blessings in various ways. Needless to say, an abundance of wealth and health are good indicators of blessing/prosperity in a Christian life. Living without any specific need in life is indeed a blessed life – a life in which all needs (physical, emotional, spiritual) are met, and we have more than what we need. Spiritually and physically healthy family, morally upright and peaceful life, successful career, conquerable adversities etc. are certain specific instances of God’s blessings upon our lives.

            A blessed Christian is a prosperous Christian.

            How does God bless us?

            Genesis 12: 1-3 offers an answer to this question. God blessed Abram with prosperity, for HE said, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great…” (v2). This is God’s material blessing (cf. Genesis 1:28). When God blesses us with prosperity, we become prominent and powerful in our society.

            But that’s not it. On the other hand, if we dig deeper into the theme of God’s blessing, we discover the Lord Jesus’ intriguing teaching on the blessing. This teaching is predicated on our relationship with God. We are blessed when we are: poor in spirit, in mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, insulted and persecuted (Matthew 5: 3-12). This is the stamp of God’s blessing in a disciple’s life. This is God’s spiritual blessing.

            Why does God bless us?

            Notwithstanding our blessings, we exist to glorify God (Ephesians 1:12). However, God blesses us for a specific reason, which is God’s mandate to us. When we understand that very reason, we would intuitively obey God, glorify and honor HIM with our blessings.

            God blesses us so that we bless God’s people, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  (Genesis 12: 1-3, NIV, Emphasis Mine).

            Therefore, we cannot ever say that “I am blessed by God.” That is an incomplete statement. That statement betrays God’s blessing in our life.

            This is the correct statement, “I am blessed by God so that I bless everyone else.” God does not bless us so that we gain power and popularity. The purpose of God’s blessing does not end there. The entire purpose of God’s blessing is realized when we, who are blessed, are a blessing to all people.

            God’s corporate blessing is upon HIS churches and mission organizations. A church (or its pastors and leaders) is blessed so that she remains a blessing to all the needy members of her congregation.

            To proclaim the gospel and to bless the financially needy members so to alleviate their financial need is not the only reason for God to bless the churches. Members have several other needs. Some need a listening ear, an encouraging presence or a shoulder to cry on. Others may require advice to resolve their existential dilemmas. Few more may yearn to have their questions answered. This list could go on.

            Hence, pastors and leaders of the churches would fulfill God’s mandate when they discern and satisfy the need of every member of their church. This is precisely why God blesses HIS churches.

            Today, more than a few Christian missions are neglecting the welfare of their employees. When God blesses a Christian mission, the organization should primarily be a blessing to its own employees and then to its vendors and clients.

            When individuals and families are blessed by God, they should bless those around them. Our experience with God cannot end with us. We cannot be ponds of blessings, where blessings culminate in us. Instead, we should be rivers of blessings to all people. This is God’s purpose and mandate to us.

            It’s not that we should be a blessing to others only when we are prosperous. We can be a blessing to others in and through our adversity as well. This lesson is taught to us by the eight beatitudes (Matthew 5: 3-10; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10). When we bless people in and through our adversity, we exhibit the power of Christ in and through us.

            The Message translation of the Bible renders the beatitudes in a familiar language, ““You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family. “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.” (Emphasis Mine).

            Our situation cannot determine the extent to which we can be a blessing to others. Suffering Christians can also be a blessing to all people. John Wesley, in his work, “A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (Foundations of Faith),” said, “Even in the greatest afflictions, we ought to testify to God, that, in receiving them from his hand, we feel pleasure in the midst of the pain, from being afflicted by Him who loves us, and whom we love.”

            May God bless us so that we remain to be rivers of God’s blessings to all people and at all times. Amen. 

Is Christianity Only About Love?

Introduction

            Some Christians believe that Historic Christianity is only about love. (When I refer to Historic Christianity, I preclude all other flavors of Christianity that contradict the core essence of Historic Christianity.)

            These brothers and sisters consistently harp on verses that communicate love: ‘God is love, ‘love your neighbors’ etc. Love is the only lens through which these Christians assimilate Christianity. Hence, their beloved slogan is love, love, and more love.  

            Is this the most perfect understanding of Christianity?

            Let’s examine the following aspects:

            (1) If Christianity is only about love, then there should be NO room for ‘hatred.’ But if Christians are mandated to hate someone or something, then Christianity is not only about love. So is Christianity only about love or is there room for hatred?

            (2) The command to love our neighbor is with a qualifier. The qualifier is this: you love your neighbor as you love yourself. We are not called to love our neighbors, but we are to love them as we love ourselves. What does it mean to love our neighbors as we love ourselves?

Should Christians Hate?

            If you study the verses that mandate love, you would learn that the verses mandating love in the Gospel of John and in the letters of Apostle John, the author defines a boundary for love. The love mandated in these writings is between fellow believers. These verses do not necessarily mandate love between the believers and the unbelievers of the God of the Bible. Consider a few verses:

            John 13: 34-35: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

            1 John 2:9-11: “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.”

            1 John 4:20: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”

            But when Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31), HE had already annihilated the boundary that limits love. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37), Christ defines a neighbor as anyone we would come into contact with – be it Christian or non-Christian. Therefore, Christians are mandated to love our neighbors (anyone) as we love ourselves.

            Although Christians are called to love everyone, there is still room for hatred. For instance, God, who Christians are to primarily love, obey and emulate is not all about love. Yes, God is not all about love; God hates certain actions and certain people. Consider these verses:

            God hates wicked people (Psalm 5:5: “You hate all who do wrong”).

            God hates wicked deeds and wicked people (Proverbs 6:16 -19 (MSG): Here are six things God hates, and one more that he loathes with a passion: eyes that are arrogant, a tongue that lies, hands that murder the innocent, a heart that hatches evil plots, feet that race down a wicked track, a mouth that lies under oath, a troublemaker in the family.).

            God’s hatred is unlike human hatred. Although the wrath of God is upon all those who do not believe HIM (Matthew 10:28; John 3:36; Romans 1:18), God sends rain and sunshine upon the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:43-48). Because God loves both the believers and the unbelievers, HE has provided ways and means for the unbelievers to believe in HIM and be saved. Therefore, God’s wrath is only upon those who consciously reject HIM.

            God does not mandate Christians to merely love. Christians are mandated to hate evil. Here are a couple of verses for your consideration:

            Psalm 97:10: "Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for he guards the lives of his faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked."

            Romans 12:9: "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."

            Believers of God are to hate evildoers as well. But this is a righteous hatred. This is not a hatred that seeks harm upon the subject of our hate.

            Significantly, Christians are called to hate Satan. We are mandated to perpetually battle Satan (Ephesians 6:10-18).

            The Psalmist says, “I hate double-minded people…” (Psalm 119:113). And elsewhere the Psalmist says, “Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.” (Psalm 3:7). Does the Psalmist, out of his abundant love for his enemies, plead to God to break their teeth? Or would you say that the Psalmist had not understood God adequately?

            If your child is kidnapped, would you not pray for deliverance? Of course, you would! Do you realize, at times, the only means to deliver your child is by killing the kidnappers?

            Any Christian, who claims that he would forget his child and not take any action against the kidnappers because he is mandated to love his enemies a.k.a. the kidnappers must be obtusely insane and acutely ignorant of the Bible.

            To those of you who say, hate the sin but love the sinner, I ask, just as how you may accommodate a needy person in your home, would your sacrificial love for a pedophile motivate you to accommodate him at your home with your children, thereby endangering your children’s lives? Or would your amazing love for your fellow neighbor and enemy – the ISIS – prompt you to fund their intents?

            Only an insane Christian would intentionally accommodate a pedophile at his home, thereby endangering his own children, whom he should only nurture and protect. Only a stupid Christian would fund the ISIS (thereby placing many innocent lives at risk) just because the Bible says that he is to love his enemies.

            Believe it or not; there is room, in Christianity, for righteous hatred! The prison is the most appropriate location for a pedophile, terrorist, and all evildoers. The primary expression of your love for your enemies should prompt you, as a responsible Christian, to inform the police upon sighting an evildoer.

            What about your colleague who misappropriates funds at your workplace? Isn’t he your neighbor and your enemy? He robs the company of its financial resources, an outcome of which could jeopardize your job. Would you, in your abundant love for your dishonest colleague, not inform your managers of your colleague’s misdemeanor, so to deceive your organization?  

            Christianity allows for righteous hatred! Upon your report, if your dishonest colleague gets fired, your love for him could motivate you to serve him by striving to transform him and alleviating his financial needs, if he is needy. But love for our neighbors does not entail Christians to promote evil in any size, form or manner.

            Here’s another articulation of righteous hatred, “…if the love is real, it must include hate…We hate evil because it is wrong. But on the other hand, if this hatred is part of loving our enemies, we must hate the evil of our enemies because of what the evil means for them…ISIS does evil and is evil — and our love for them means we hate both. We hate that they are blinded by darkness, that they are trapped by Satan’s schemes, that they are following the course of this world and ignorant of it all (Ephesians 2:2; 4:18). But that hate, if we are obeying Jesus, means that we hate them not only because of their disgusting injustice, but for what that injustice means for their souls…Love for our enemies means, fundamentally, that we hate our enemies for wholeheartedly joining in the evil that will ultimately cause their damnation (John 5:29). That is the kind of hate — the kind of love — that might look on them and say, in the spirit of our Savior, Father, forgive them for being so oblivious to what they’re doing. Open their eyes.”¹

How To Truly Love?

            Loving your neighbors as you love yourself is easier said than done. Quite a few of us scream at the top of our voices that we love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

            Really?

            I love myself and my family so much that I give us the best my money can buy. Does your life reflect this statement?

            True love is not visiting orphanages and elderly care homes once or twice a year. True love is not to help a senior citizen cross the road or offering a small portion of what’s in your wallet to your neighborhood beggar or the homeless.

            As long as there are needy people in your vicinity who are unable to eat three proper meals or afford appropriate healthcare or education, and as long as you and I continue to enjoy all these benefits, we do not truly love our neighbor.

            It’s not true love when we refuse to part with our money, but we assure our neighbors of our prayers. The Bible depicts this situation wonderfully well, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:15-17). Make use of all your resources (financial and non-financial) in such a way that you and your needy neighbors are never in need.

            What then is true love? It is to give and give graciously and freely until our giving hurts us. I am not saying that we should become poor. Moreover, we may not be able to alleviate poverty in our neighborhood. But we can certainly make a strong difference in people’s lives by graciously and sacrificially giving what the Lord has graciously and freely given to us.

            Finally, true love is not to encourage the sins of our fellow Christians. Some Christians claim that Christianity is all about love only to legitimize their own sins or the sins of their fellow Christians (E.g. Endorsing homosexuality).

            Sins are an assault on God. God has defined and determined sins in the Bible. Let us not strive to embark on a futile journey to legitimize sins under the false pretense that Christianity is all about love.

Conclusion

            Christianity is not all about love. Righteous hatred has its place in Christianity.

            When we claim to love others as we love ourselves, let us truly love others without any semblance of hypocrisy or political correctness.

Endnotes:

¹https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/do-you-love-your-enemies-enough-to-hate-them

Scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise mentioned.