God, save me from your followers!

“A volcano is an opening in the surface of the Earth which allows hot lava, volcanic ash and gases to escape from the magma chambers below the surface.  When pressure builds up, eruption occurs, I think something has built up in me as far as today’s post is concerned and I am about to erupt. When it comes to matters of dogma and doctrine, I usually hold my piece and never get into debates.  I am, to say the least, disturbed at how Christianity is reflected of late. I grew up in the church all my life, it is all I know – I served in the church – if you are a Pastor’s kid, you know that you flow church blood within you, I have been involved in all forms of ministry and have worked with hundreds of churches from different denominations around the globe. 

I have to say that my siblings and I were very fortunate in a sense that we didn’t see much of a difference from the parents at home and the parents at church, my parents lived as they said. Love was ministered to us in a way that even if we didn’t see it we would be able to find evidence of it should we go back in time. This, in my opinion should be what Christians strive to achieve in their walk with Christ – reflecting God’s WORD in their lives. 

I have never been a religious person, maybe it’s because of the mission work I used to be a part of,  in mission work, one’s duty is to resemble God in everything you do, one value that was always stressed was to preach the Gospel at all times but only use words when necessary – we traveled around the world and would sometimes go for months without attending a church service that we were comfortable with, sometimes we would not attend any church service at all, so we had to find Jesus within ourselves to keep us spiritually sharp with no dependency on any external authority figure or institution.  We understood we were representing our Abba Father and we could not afford to misrepresent Him so we had to check ourselves first because we knew that this was a lifestyle and not some set of rules and regulations, for if it were a set of rules and regulations then I am convinced we would have not made it out spiritually alive. Love, compassion, grace and mercy were the order of the day.

This for me is key in laying foundations in this walk with God.  Looking around in present day, it almost seems like some Christians have morphed Christianity into a cult of some sort (A cult is defined as a religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader). I totally cannot identify with this breed of Christians, let me break it down to you.

I am very careful to note that I am speaking about “some Christians´ because I cannot claim to have met all Christians and I have also met Christians who are truly God’s agents on earth (such as my parents).  It was Ghandi who said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians, and they are so unlike Christ.” If you are a Christian, you have heard that statement one times too many. What is going on? Some Christians are so stuck on the self-righteous/serving religion that they do not see the harm they are doing for the Kingdom – it’s as if they are on earth to serve themselves? Romans 10:15 says “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news/tidings”.  It’s clear that Paul says that when people have an encounter with Christ followers, they must really appreciate the encounter and not feel condemned and ostracised.
 The ‘me, me, me, all about me’ gospel must come under review, “my finances, my house, my my my…forgetting that the Kingdom and all its righteousness is what needs to be sought by Christ followers, that statement is so loaded and if understood properly, could really help many people.  It’s totally simple "this thing", I do not need to manipulate, blackmail, hold at ransom for people to follow what I follow, if it speaks to their soul, then they will yearn and hunger for what I possess and that can only be done through living out the WORD of God.

I have heard many explanations from Christians why Ghandi and many others after him say what they say about Christians, and my favourite has to be when people misquote “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you…. If they persecuted Me they will persecute you… for they do not know the One who sent Me.” John 15:19-21, this for me is an excuse for some Christians to justify their terrible misrepresentation of Christ on earth. 

Jesus Christ was always patient, full of love, grace and compassion to those who fell short, he never once condemned or judged them. However, Jesus did rebuke a certain group of people, Matthew 23:13-23 highlights the seven woes Jesus lashed out at the Pharisees to a point of calling them blind fools and venomous snakes.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are. “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’  You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.  And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.  You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.  In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.  Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started! “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

Some Christians truly behave like they are Pharisees.  When I did the research work at some correctional services, some inmates would say it’s all good and well that they hunger for Christ when they are behind bars, but the minute they are released and want to join a church, it becomes very tough for them to be accepted.  One lady who is a prostitute related how she was desperate for a touch from God that she ran to the first church she saw, she said she had just come from working and instead of a tender touch, the church ushers and protocols were more concerned about her dress code telling her that it is not acceptable to come to church dressed like that. A young lady who has had an abortion cannot seek out help from the church because she gets condemned outright and thus keeps it in and slowly dies inside. Some Christians cannot associate with non-Christians (and please do not quote “do not be unequally yoked, because that is not what that scripture means).  One Scientist told me that sometimes he mistakes some non-Christians for Christians because they model what Christians should model.

Nothing reflects the nature of God like the book of Hosea –please take your time to read the story here

I am not saying we should excuse anything here, what I am simply asking is how would Jesus react to situations we react harshly to? I pray that we become agents of Love, peace, righteousness, humility, authenticity etc…– may we resemble the true God who showed his redemptive love through Hosea. That is the extent of the love of this God that we are serving.