Fake Christians

By The Elephant in the Room, South East Asia

Christ calls His followers to turn from sin and the pursuit of the things of this world. He said, “No one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions”

Luke 14:33

What does it take to be a Christian? Why are there people who thinks that it is okay to behave as part-time Christians who lives by the Word of God at the whims and fancies, or a holier-than-thou Christian who thinks that everyone else is going to hell other than themselves? As the supposed follower of Christ, can a Christian be deemed less or more pious than the other when the one shared belief is that Jesus has died on the cross for our sins, and it is due to this sacrifice that we are saved. How then do we measure the faith we carry in our heart and lips by leading out our daily lives? Are we as dedicated to the word of God as we should be? Do we really have full trust in his words or are we simply fulfilling a routine that was partly “destined” of us? Are you proud of who you are as a Christian? Are you aspiring to live a life inspired by Christ or are you perpetually enslaved by your worldly demons? Do you genuinely care about your neighbours, or are you just keeping up appearances for the world to see? Realistically, will we be able to give up on all our material comforts in order to properly do God’s work?

Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins, and yet today, we hold on to the very sins which tempts us into distancing ourselves from the Kingdom of God. The promise of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven perhaps come across as a lofty idealistic notion from the complexities of a profoundly fabricated fairy tale that doesn’t carry any tangible weight. Maybe some of us have never experienced miracles first hand but we can never doubt that God has never been a part of lives, leading us and inspiring us when situations get testy. Where does this rebelliousness stem from? The wretchedness which was lost when we were found never did go away, it only seemed to have persisted and flourished each time we behaved unchristian-like. How awful is this relationship we have with our Heavenly Father, to declare that we are strong at our faith but yet stumble at the next temptation?

“How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”

John 5:44

We glorify the human flesh, and succumb to the temptations of sin so very willingly, displaying next to no effort of having God’s word in our heart and mind while we go about our daily lives, putting on the Christian label but manifesting nothing but the devil’s behavior in our actions. Every want to drive us to perform better than the other person by trampling them to the ground for the next promotion, the blood thirsty desire to achieve excellence in the measurements of man and the economy is an influence of pure greed and narcissism. Are we even God fearing to begin with?

Probably not because we worship riches, fame and glory, where cash is the real King. Otherwise, how does one explain the penchant towards the self-governance in faith or rather more accurately, the lack thereof, picking out things that work for us to live by and being indifferent to those that doesn’t? Did God provide us with a questionnaire on our preferences on how we should worship and live by his Word?

Free will although given is not to be used as an excuse for the convenience of “accidental” sins. Since free will exists because of a sovereign God, it would only mean that free will is a choice to act in and often in accordance to God’s Word. The will to behave in the Christian ways, inspired by the life of how Christ has led his - till his crucifixion. And to understand that as the premise of Christianity, how could one be less religious in the religion? Why is it so easy to commit sin without feeling guilty of the act? Are we that oblivious to our despicable actions or have we conditioned ourselves to make light of it? Where is the Holy Spirit suppose to reside if not within us, and how could it if we are such sinful hosts and spiritually unsound and tainted by all our evil thought and wrong doings? Would the act of baptism mean anything if the person baptised simply doesn’t strive the least at practising the faith? Is the gate to Heaven found at the front of a 24-hour convenience store? We are too casual with God and flippant in our beliefs, there is hardly any real conviction in our voices, or strides carried confidently in our paces. We have delved deep into the secular and sinful, persistently making excuses for our short-comings, yet in view of His coming, unflinching, unperturbed, willful and wretched.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’

John 8:12

With this, we are we turning our backs on our savior? Are we not convinced of all the miracles for he had done in our lives? God decree the ten commandments, but how are we adhering to it? Doesn’t one feel terrible at brushing off such sacredness to do whatever we want and then thinking it will all be forgiven through confession? What is confession when the person has complete disregard at not committing the same mistakes again? Is human nature such an unreliable one? Must we feel the smite of God in order to learn, and then again, did we even learn through what had already happened in the past? Mankind is a complete and utter contradiction.

Hypocrites. The world is filled of hypocrites. You, me, he, she, everyone is one. Redeemable from sin? Perhaps.

Only one would know. You know what truly lies within your heart and God peruses it as an open book.

The fact is that no species has ever had such wholesale control over everything on earth, living or dead, as we now have. That lays upon us, whether we like it or not, an awesome responsibility. In our hands now lies not only our own future, but that of all other living creatures with whom we share the earth. “

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- Sir David Attenborough

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