More religious shit

I think it's cool how you're wanting to make an effort to get everyone to post a little bit about their testimonies. I guess I could share something too.

I walked past a stall outside Foodtown today and my instant reaction was: "Oh no, it's those Red Cross guys again who want you to sign up for monthly donations". I admire what they do but they've stopped me quite a few times and it's hard to get away from them sometimes without being rude.

But then I saw what the elderly lady was raising money for - and it was for multiple sclerosis. One of the most heartbreaking things I've ever witnessed in my life is seeing the beautiful people my mother looks after with disabilities and all the pain that they have to go through. One girl, her name is Emily, she's suffered from it ever since she was a baby and it's so unfair on her. She has to have a carer 24/7 to look after her and often gets depressed because there's not a lot she can do. She doesn't really have many friends so please pray for her because she truly does deserve so much better than most of us.

Sometimes we have parties and the friends that we invite along are the ones who are all doing OK in life. At a lot of social events the people that you meet will often have things sorted out - good health, good wealth, and are climbing their way up to the top of the social ladder. Don't forget to make friends with those who truly need us the most though. I don't mean to advocate something like how the Green Party has a constitution which says one of their leaders must be male and the other female for the sake of gender balance and equality, but I really would hope that someday I'll be able to say to people that the friends I spend most of my time with are made up of those who are in the minorities in society, because at the end of the day they are the ones who will be able to empathise with you the most and truly care about how you are.

That whole idea, I think, smacks of the individualism that plagues Western evangelism today (the whole: “I AM important to Jesus” - way of thinking). Or to phrase it another way, I don’t think that everybody is equally important to God, and I don’t think we are all supposed to have a 'personal relationship’ with Him. We don’t need Jesus' salvation, help and/or rescue in the sense that other people do - if you are rich, comfortable and well-integrated into society (i.e. the average middle-to-upper-class Church-goer), Jesus probably would not have had much time for you. His time here on Earth was spent on the poor, disabled, outcasts and the ill, and I suspect if He were here today, He’d give far more attention to them and be hanging out with them than walking beside people like us. Which is why I think so many worship songs today are misleading - they make it seem like God pays full attention to us and our cares and so we end up singing about how great God has been to us rather than focus our energy to how we can carry out His legacy of ending injustices and poverty.

However, I know many here will disagree with me because at Church you're taught that everybody needs God no matter who they are and we've linked the problems we've faced in our own lives to the prayers we've prayed and so we are convinced that God has played a large part in how things have turned out. This is what I used to believe as well - until I realised that I wasn't going to save all of my non-Christian friends and that it is likely that most of them are never ever going to receive Christ into their lives and thus be 'saved'. You know, perhaps I could give a testimony about how God helped me get a cool job that I liked, and how He's looked after me and done lots for me in my life. But then my co-worker on the other hand might not attribute his success to God at all and yet be a more hardworking employee than I am and values respecting our boss far more than I do. So basically I'm happy because God has given me a job with a high pay and that satisfies me selfishly whereas he is happy because he gets to contribute meaningfully to society. And I'm sure if Jesus were here today, He would say to me: "You have called me Lord - yet this man is truly more worthy of being called My son".



I was at a Church service two Sundays ago where a pastor shared about how his mother received Christ during the last days of her life before she eventually succumbed to cancer and died. On the flipside my uncle who also died of cancer never had a chance to even hear about Christ, let alone receive Him into his life. Christianity is never quite so black and white, and I think the things I posted about above, about people with multiple sclerosis and how we must try to make an effort to not forget about them - to me that's what Jesus' life, teachings and ultimately what His testimony was all about - wanting us to remember the broken in society and do something for those who need our help because they can't help themselves. I consider raising awareness about social issues a testimony to the Lord, but of course, I am amongst the worst of those who never seem to quite do enough about it compared to all the doctors, nurses and carers who dedicate their lives to being there for them.