All religions espouse moral and ethical ideals, buttressed by certain rules and regulations about worship, holiness, goodness, truth, integrity, honor, respect, loyalty, honesty, justice, obedience, etc. And they all have to do with relationship: One’s relationship to God and one’s relationship to others.
Hence religions also teach and model rites and rituals to their adherents who are to practice and observe them—prescribed ways of appropriately approaching God, ways of relating to, praying to, or referring to God, and ways of asking and requesting of God, that is, seeking God’s aid, favor, and/or approval.
Thus religious institutions play a major role in defining humanity’s nature and status before God: Who can approach God and how, what and who is acceptable before God, and who and what is not? When and how is one forgiven and allowed access to a perfectly Holy God and when or how is one denied such access, that is, considered impure—rejected and condemned before God.
To say the least, this is heady powerful stuff. And so, sadly, many adherents of whatever religion believe and act as if they have the right and the privileged status to be God’s gatekeepers—to force or enforce religious rule upon others, even going so far as assuming the right to deliver judgment and its consequence upon nonbelievers and stray-believers alike (as they so define), along with the self-righteous condemnation of anyone who challenges them or disagrees with their particular brand of religious practice.
As a Christian I readily acknowledge that adherents of Christianity can be just as guilty of this attitude as followers of any other Faith. Still, it doesn’t negate the integrity of the person of Christ Himself. It was Jesus who scolded the self-righteous religious leaders of his day when he said things like, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture, ‘I desire compassion [or mercy], not sacrifice.’” He referred to this more than once. See Matthew 9:13. In Matthew 12:7 Jesus adds the comment that, if they would have understood this truth, they would not have condemned the innocent.
In our religiosity, we humans tend to become judgmental and take on a superior attitude against those who fail to live up to our religious beliefs, practices, and ideals. And in doing so, we often then condemned even the innocent.
Jesus also said, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged,” adding that we must first take out the “log” that is in our own eye before we worry about trying to take out the “speck” that is in someone else’s eye. Here Jesus seems to be saying that the one presuming to judge others has the greater guilt (has the log) rather than the one being judged (having only a speck). See Matthew 7:1-5.
Is there a better way then the Way of Christ? Contemplate Jesus. Meditate on His words, consider His actions. Dare to practice His teachings. Look at His life, what He modeled, how He lived? Take Him at His word. Digest Him. Drink Him. For He Himself said that he is the living water and the bread of life. The challenge is to seriously follow Him—despite the apparent hypocrisy of those who now already claim the name of “Christian.”
You may not respect most of Jesus’ followers, but you’ve got to respect Jesus himself. And if you do, and you seriously embrace Jesus as a master moral teacher or as a great spiritual role model, your challenge is to live as He lived. If you take up this challenge, I have no doubt that your life will never be the same and that in the end you too will most likely and gladly confess Him as Lord and Savior.
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