Irreplaceable!

We all fall in a bracket by getting used to do things that doesn’t always require our emotions and conscience to do what we do. Out of practice and part of a regular schedule we keep doing many things to which a larger extent fetches us a reward and compensation which is as a result of a job or a business, but still there are many activities that remain meaningless and it is done as part of our tradition and upbringing. In that some of the activities includes fulfilling religious rites and rituals too.

Most of the things people do is for temporary sustenance and majority of it to make them happy. The philosophy of existentialism, living for a day and making one secure by wealth is the ultimate goal to a larger extent. People indulge in many things to mitigate the vacuum in their heart not knowing wealth, commodity and relationship do not guarantee any of it permanently.  

Every happiness we work towards in this world is so temporary because life in this world itself is temporary. Let me give you an example, we all have smart phones and sometimes when we get fascinated with a particular sight, we capture it and carefully preserve it and then the excitement of the same sight once excited us is no more a big thrill after a period of time. The excitement gets lost quickly or replaced by another scenery.

One Augustine said in his confession that “all men want to be happy” and do what they do in order to be happy. But not all are happy, because they do not seek happiness in the place where it can be found. The Bible tells us where it can be found. The source of happiness is in God’s presence (not referring to the religious building) and its receptor in man’s heart which is why the Bible again and again demands the heart to be holy and pure as it becomes the abode of God. Every wrongdoing is a sin that can disturb the spiritual balance in human heart.

In one of the beatitudes of Jesus it reads, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”. Forgiveness of sin and salvation cannot be obtained by taking a dip in the river, visiting the religious buildings or going to a confession box as some Christian churches practice. It is just by believing the salvation offered in the cross of Calvary. It is a gift of God. You have the privilege to acknowledge and accept the same.

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What is wrong with the world?

 

Ask any common man and he has something serious to say about the world. Most of the people think there is something wrong with the culture, ethics, morality, virtues, etiquettes, etc.  The common parameter one tends to use is to compare the present times with the past decades and conclude that people now are worse than in their times. Nobody actually has a complete idea as to who or what is the cause for such drastic crumbling of things. But one thing all agree with is that with so much of advancement in knowledge and technology there is this danger of being cheated and losing things is also very high.

Most of the people have a complaint that their children aren’t listening to them anymore and probably children are indulging in too many secret activities, which can be not just be bad but life threatening.  With technology at their fingertips, children are getting into some form of addiction that once was considered to be an adult issue.

Trustworthiness has become a rare commodity. With any dealings we aren’t sure if we are dealt with honestly or are cheated. As we grow smart, the crimes get smarter and all are looking at the problem blaming every other entity other than themselves. Religion teaches us to stop desiring and goes to an extent, suggesting to replace with a positive behavior. These can be great advice and good philosophies but still the root problem wouldn’t actually go.

Many people are trying to put band-aid to festering wounds. Superficial treatment wouldn’t treat the core root issue. Irrespective of any religion we all have the responsibility to be good stewards of this planet. We all are concerned about the condition of our world and more importantly, the people who live here. But as J. Warner states “it is the supernatural transformation of individual lives as a result of hearing the Gospel that eventually changes the nature of each culture and (ultimately) the condition of our planet. The Biblical claims related to salvation are people-focused claims; individuals are the focus of God’s redemptive work.”.

Our broken relationship and the challenges we witness is not with our environment or with one another; it’s with the creator. As we address the real dilemma, all the other ancillary problems will resolve themselves as we come to understand and embrace the purpose of God. The Bible says, “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is one who seeks God". When each one of us surrender our brokenness and the sin issues we all battle with God, then Christ forgives us and transforms us to be a new person. A transformed group of people make a transformed community.

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You Gotto Wash Your Dirty Laundry – Part 2

"Sin is not hurtful because it forbidden. But its forbidden because its hurtful." Ben Franklin. Money, power, fame and beauty will allure us to live life on the edge, especially the Millennials (born between 1981-1996) and Generation Zs (born between 1997-2012) (New York Disrupted by Mac Pier). It blurs the lines of forbiddances and tempts us to stretch them as far as we could. This is exactly what's happening with the celebrities in the film industry. They stretched the lines too far that it snapped and their ground caved in. Bollywood is in the spotlight for its drug cartel and drug abuse and their is no place to hide. Many more are in the danger of being exposed, scrambling for legal advice. Last blog we saw two lessons that we learnt from their shortcomings. Let's see two more:

The third lesson is to wash your "dirty laundry" in private before it becomes public. You have to remove the drapes some time or the other. It is better you remove than wait for to others rip it open. Sin cannot be concealed endlessly. The Bible says, "For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light.". Today, the media trial is merciless and unforgiving. It could care less about the feelings of those involved. There is a conscience that would have warned each person while committing the mistake but they silenced it with pleasure and money. These icons have lost their very credibility that made them icons.

The fourth lesson is use the skills and hard work that God has blessed you with in the right way. I am sure that all those involved in the scandals worked their way up their ladder with hard work and commitment. But was it used to influence people in the positive way? The fury of the fans are understandable because they made icons of these celebrities for their "reel" life portrayal. Deception at the cost of using the public sentiments for their personal survival. Unfortunately, the deception has cheapened their very existence making them worse than those who peddled drugs for them.

Friends, Millennials and Generation Zs, every action of ours has consequences. For the celebrities it is was never about right and wrong. Right and wrong cannot exist apart from the moral giver, i.e. God. A God who embodies truth and justice. It is important we make Him our role model as He is our life giver. Jesus said,".... I have come that so that they may have life and have it in abundance.". Enjoying an abundant life can only be within a moral framework. A framework defined by a true and just God. We can find this only in Jesus. Incidentally, we are prone to sin because we are sinners. The Bible beautifully puts it, "You can't white wash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.". The world is only a temporary existence. We have a future life of eternity. Do not allow the world to play spoil sport for you to lose this joy of living with God in eternity. Tune up you conscience to God and allow Him to rule your heart. Be popular for being known as the child of God. 

Check Part 1

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You Gotto Wash Your Dirty Laundry – Part 1

  

"Sin is sweet in the beginning but bitter in the end" The Talmund. This has come true in the lives of our Bollywood celebrities. Its been a circus since June 2020 with a famous actor's demise. However, these incidents have taught extremely valuable lessons that can shape and mold our Millennials (born between 1981-1996) and Generation Zs (born between 1997-2012) (New York Disrupted by Mac Pier). I have drawn four lessons from these controversies. Let's look at the first two this week:

The first lesson is money, power, beauty and fame are not the ultimate end. Controversies have been racking the film fraternity both in Hollywood and Bollywood. It started with Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, which made the famous #MeToo movement go viral. The sin Harvey Weinstein became famous for is "casting couch". For those of us who are in unfamiliar territory, "Casting Couch" means providing acting jobs, especially for women, in exchange for sex. We were all shocked and shook our heads in regret. But little did we know that we have another scandal breaking up in our own home front. The Bollywood with its drug cartel and drug abuse. Let's draw some common denominators in both these worlds. Both is about money, both is about power, both is about beauty and both is about fame. Today, somehow our Millennials and Generation Zs have got this into their system that their sole aim and goal is to gain these four at all costs. But where does these lead to? Apparently, these very things are the ones that become a deathly trap. The Bible beautifully comprises it in one thought, "But if its money these leaders are after, they'll self destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble.".

The second lesson is that sin does not build relationships, it only tears down. Friends are friends only until everything goes well. The Bible warns, "Don't trust your neighbor, don't confide in your friend.". Its interesting to note that top Bollywood celebrities are going through what Jesus went through in His life - "Betrayal". Only difference is that He was betrayed because He was sinless. Evidently, today each are betraying one another because they used each other for their own selfish ends. Harvey was betrayed by the one woman who was obsessed about him at one point of time in life. It was her final testimony that sealed his fate. 

To be continued....

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Using wrong to correct the wrong!

 

Defensiveness and convincing are two things that we are born with and use them to prove our views are “right.”. We do it in our families, school, work, and social gatherings. If proved wrong, we feel belittled, defeated or humiliated. Sometimes, having proved wrong can upset our entire worldview, leaving us unanchored. Psychologist cites, “the problem is that we all come with the necessary equipment to fall into the “always be right” trap.”. Let us not forget that we all can go wrong at any point of time, we fall into the trap ignorantly or deliberately.

Right and wrong are never relative as most people think. The saying; “one man’s food is another man poison” does not legitimize it. People support the wrong, sanitize it and camouflage it as right for their convenience. Wrong is wrong however one paints it to appear right. People politicize to dilute the truth and use religion to give it a godly angle.

People attempt to use a wrong to rectify a wrong but fail to understand that they end up doing more wrong. They constantly have to strive to accommodate and mitigate the result of all their wrong doings. Their conscience does not bother them as long as their survival remains undisturbed. Sadly, the means and methodologies become irrelevant and constantly battle with the consequences of the many wrongs done in their day to day life.  

Being right is always connected with truth, liberating and helping people to live in freedom, which is why Jesus asserted “truth shall set you free.”. And to know the truth you need to know a God who is full of truth. Jesus claims, “I am the way the truth and the life.”.  If you want to live a liberated life you need to adopt the truth and the source of the truth. Jesus is the full expression of God’s absolute truth.  Peace and joy your soul longs for are the result of doing what is right. Come out of the illusion caused by tradition, meaningless ideologies and theologies. R C Sproul puts it beautifully, “We live in an age of compromise, but if we stand on the bedrock of God’s truth, we will not bend with the winds of relativism and faithlessness.".

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Are you free yet?

 

We are all recipients of pain and suffering in this world. We usually conclude that it has been caused by someone other than us. Somewhere we fail to realize that we all influence the good and bad happening around us. We assume we are roaming free but we are actually bound in shackles.

I want to quote John Lennox, a Northern Irish Mathematician of science. He is Emeritus professor of Mathematics at the university of Oxford and an Emeritus Fellow in Mathematics and philosophy of science at Green Templeton College. In his book “Where is God in Coronavirus?” He reveals the sources of pain and suffering this way:

‘Pain and suffering come from two distinct sources. Firstly, there is suffering as a result of natural disasters and diseases, for which humans are not (directly) responsible: earthquakes, tsunamis, cancers, and the Coronavirus. This leads to the problem of pain, or, as it is often called, the problem of natural evil. This terminology is somewhat unfortunate, since the word “evil” has moral connotations and neither earthquakes nor viruses are moral agents. Second there is suffering for which men and women are directly responsible: acts of hate, terror, violence, abuse and murder. That leads to the problem of moral evil.’.

The law of the land and constitution deal with defaulters who intentionally break the law and indulge in crimes. Their evil surpasses limits and as a result are hunted down by law, but what about the many who do not appear on radar of the law, secretly involving in things, which are deemed as vices? Many breaking the moral law fail to notice that the evil they indulged and associated with has accumulated and outgrown the virtues,  forcing them to live in bondage all their lives. Consequently, all are experiencing the effects of it.

Stephen Covey in his book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” points the inside-out approach which says, "Private victories, precede public victories, that making and keeping promises to ourselves precedes making and keeping promises to others.". Many are observing this day as "Freedom Sunday" and praying a small prayer for people who are in some form of bondage.

The root of evil is inherent in all human beings. Some willfully embrace evil for selfish ends, while some are taken unawares. The Bible talks about the problem of sin and addiction to such vices. It says, “For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate… So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me.”. Bible never endorses mass salvation and purification. It is an individual commitment asking God for help to transform oneself and family and live as a dignified human being who pleases God. You can make a commitment today!

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Freedom from the bondage!

 

Millions are trapped under some form of slavery in our country and worldwide. The global slavery index points out that 40.3 million are victims of modern-day slavery. Modern Day Slavery is human trafficking of families (men, women & children) into forced labor, sex and other forms of oppression. 

Human trafficking and bonded labor are serious issues our entire nation is fighting to eradicate. This cruel form of evil has trapped even the innocent children who are clueless of being used as a commodity. It is unfortunate that with the demand being high, the supply makes it very costly because of the risks involved in the crime. This in turn makes it a lucrative business for the tycoons involved. They merchandise people entice many to participate and associate with such evil for the money. In many countries such horrendous crimes are known as organized crime.

News of such heinous crimes have become a common feature that we have become numb, helpless and apathetic. Martin Luther King Jr puts it beautifully, “We all have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”. Our silence is sin. Bible talks about it so strongly. ‘Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter. If you say, “But we didn’t know about this,” won’t he who weighs hearts consider it? Won’t he who protects your life know? Won’t he who repay a person according to his work?’

It is important we join hands to pray for the lives of the vulnerable who are trapped and hopeless. Also pray that the government will take effective steps and eradicate this cruel form of evil from our society and our country. 20^th September, 2020 (Sunday) is observed as "Freedom Sunday" in Churches and institutions to educate people and children about it and at the same time pray for deliverance of such people.

Let me again quote Martin Luther king Jr who says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”. Evil is contagious and it affects all. God of the Bible is the God of justice and demands our unity to eradicate any form of evil that affects human race. The Bible says, “The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor, the wicked does not understand such concern.”. Would you like to say a small prayer for this injustice and submit yourself as an agent of transformation? For further reading on this issue, refer to my previous blogs given below:

How safe are your loved ones-1

How safe are your loved ones-2

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