Modern Day Christians

Once upon a time, Peter and the other disciples prayed and the earth shook under their feet (check out the book of Acts of the Apostles). Their prayers yielded results immediately to show that they were true men of God. The real Christian*, whether then or now, needs to take these words as the gospel truth, or leave them alone. Now, the First Century Christians believe in these words that they knew would never waver out of variability. The modern Pontius Pilates and Caesars (politicians) have created world changes with the movement of time, and these metamorphoses have attracted the billions living on earth. Yet, just like Jesus didn’t blend in with the fewer developments then, he doesn’t expect any of his followers to revel in them and claim to represent him in the same breath.

Today the modern ‘Christians’ claim to be in greater number but only blend in with the rest of a dark world. Yet Jesus said “I am the light of the world” and that “nobody lights a candle and puts it under a bushel”. It means that Christians are supposed to be shining out from among the dark dungeon, because according to The Crucified and Resurrected One “By the love that you show, people will know that you are my disciples”. You ask many ‘Christians’, “Why aren’t you standing out as prescribed?” The answer is always the same, “Nobody is perfect!” And their way of worshipping Jesus Christ is by extrapolating a piece of Psalms here and there to suit their purpose, thinking that that is being a disciple of The Holy One. But Jesus has already stipulated that “Unless you deny yourself, pick up the cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple” the operative word being ‘cannot’. By the way, wearing a cross of gold around your neck is not the same thing.

The Rich Young Ruler

The rich young ruler stopped Jesus to ask him the same question that baffles a lot of ‘Christians’ in the contemporary world.

“What should I do to inherit eternal life?” the cocky fellow questioned.

People just never change. They always have the same desires in one form or another. They wouldn’t mind living as they wish, waiting to get near their dying day when they can just knock on heaven’s door, saying ‘open sesame’. Then as if by magic, they just saunter down the garden path! Wouldn’t it be nice? But Jesus always knew what was in people’s hearts before they even moved their lips. Today, ‘Christians’ with this guy’s intention ask the same questions, and instead of searching the scriptures diligently (seek and you will find), they often coin their own answers. That might be one reason their prayers are falling on deaf ears. The rich young ruler was most likely thinking of something that said he should just whisper a word telling God to come into his heart, and he would be fine. But Jesus laid down the demands.

“Obey the commandments,” said The Messiah.

The young man who perhaps thought he had a whole life ahead of him with his good fortunes and looks, thought that that was a piece of cake. His attitude wasn’t strange to Jesus either.

“I have been doing that since I was a boy,” he pluckily retorted with his premeditated reply. He perhaps thought that all he needed to do was to take some time out of his busy schedule to put in his little piece, and heaven’s door should swing wide open, at the press of his remote button, to the wonders of his presence. But then Jesus gave it to him.

“Well, now that you have already done so, go sell what you have and feed my sheep (give to the poor). Then come and do like I am doing.”

The rich young ruler hesitated, thought about his riches, everything that the world had to offer, versus the demands that Jesus just highlighted as no options, and came to the conclusion that The Master’s criteria cast too much of a tall order. He looked at Jesus, then turned and walked away. Most modern ‘Christians’ hypocritically won’t turn and walk away, but instead, like the rich young ruler, stick to just trying to legalistically obey the commandments on their own terms. The world has so much to offer right now, so they are torn between two extremes.

Obama Religious Drama

It’s not the best idea to discuss politics and religion since these two institutions attract a lot of controversies. Barrack Obama, the 44^th president of the United States of America, once made history, but is now making headlines for what many critics regard as questionable remarks, one of them cutting across Christianity. He said “I cannot use The Holy Bible to lead America” and he reeled off a few references and parables to substantiate his comparison. He angered the ‘Christians’, many of whom are simply on a bandwagon rather than being the Christians that Jesus is commanding them to be.

If anything, Obama is correct in speculating that he couldn’t adhere to the principles of The Holy Bible to sustain his governance. However, by stating it like it is, the same folks, who agreed yesteryear with the removal of prayers and biblical ideals from the American school system, are now complaining that the people’s president is riding on the wave of his endorsement. And by the way, silence meant consent in the case of casting away Christian teaching from schools. Of course, Obama is assessing the fact that there is so much religious diversity in USA, he would have to step on some toes if he were to use The Holy Bible as the tool to rule. And also of course, The Holy Bible has so many rigidities (such as what was told to the rich young ruler), which means that in a world full of revelries and enticements, people would be hard-pressed to renounce their ‘add as favorites programs’ to embrace the Christian teachings wholeheartedly. With Internet pornography on the rise, the president would have to denounce that as the daily bread. But that’s denying the capital that capitalism capitulates in its quest. The national lottery brings millions to the nation. Obama would have to deregulate that gambling if The Holy Bible should dictate the way. If he should only take bits and pieces and discard the rest of the scriptures, he would be playing a game of hide and seek with the creator. And that’s like heaping coals on his own forehead. Now, who wants to be burnt in hell?

NB * ‘Christian’ means those who are false and Christian means the real one.