Some of the cruellest people are religious people. Look at the torture devices invented by the Spanish Inquisition and you’ll know what I mean. The torture devices were applied on people whose ideology differed from the political and religious authorities of the day.
The “heretics” were viewed as enemies of the state.
Today, you don’t have to torture someone to be cruel. Torture after all is now considered crude, and its use is reserved only for military and political abuses. This however does not mean that inflicting pain on others have ceased. Many religious people continue to do so… not physically, but mentally and psychologically. Sometimes unintentionally.
Gossiping is one of the cruellest means. The worst thing is when gossips are spread to “share concern”… the more juicy, the better… so that “we can ‘pray’ for the person or matter.” So the gossips are shrouded in “good” intentions, but which are of no help at all to the victims concerned. In fact the victims are usually not informed and often ostracised.
Some people don’t know the difference between spreading the gospel and spreading the gossip.
Then there’re the legalistic people who put others down with their “holier than thou” attitudes. You must comply with their self conceived standards of morality to be accepted. They don’t realize that the highest form of immorality is to impose one’s own sense of morality upon another who is not of the same persuasion… in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ (Matthew 15:9)
Smoking and excessive drinking can be offensive to some people, but this does not mean that people who smoke and have a drinking problem will not be welcomed into God’s kingdom. God will be their judge. As for us, our role is to point them to the Saviour to get them out of their difficulties, not condemn them.
Jesus didn’t come to condemn but to provide healing and hope to the sin sick soul and to the hopeless. In John 3:17 we read… For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
The same goes for gambling, prostitution and drug addiction. This does not mean that we’re to be soft on sin… NO; we’re to hate the sin but love the sinner.
Unfortunately our congregations are filled with self righteous people who have forgotten what they were before they met the Saviour… or what they could have become if not for the transformative power of Jesus.
A visiting American missionary once shared how he was invited to pray for and bless the children at the end of the worship meeting. So he gathered all the kids to the front and prayed, “Father, may these children bless Your name. May their lives give You glory as they give their lives in war torn zones, feed the hungry and give hope to the destitute.”
Before he could go further, many parents rushed forward and stopped his praying… they only wanted to have comforting words. They were not into God-centered, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” prayers where there’s mention of sacrifice and suffering.
For them, Jesus never came to die on the cruel cross… that was only a romantic notion. The idea of church for them is a cozy social club to discuss and argue over lofty theological ideas and play board games… and to “lament” over other people’s calamity.
Matthew 18:15-20 is quoted in most churches today as a disciplinary procedure. A closer look will reveal that it is really instruction for reconciliation. But how often is that text used for reconciliation instead of justification for ex-communication?
Here are some more popular topics for gossiping over coffee…
- Mrs Ho’s teenage daughter is pregnant. Will the church allow her to get married?
- The pastor’s son got drunk and got into a serious accident. How can!
- Mr Tan’s business had failed and now the loan sharks are after him.
- The Covid-19 crisis has cost him his job; he has to beg to feed his family.
- He was having an affair with his secretary; his wife is sueing him for divorce.
- This woman is a divorcee, how dare she worship in this church?
The litany of gossips go on…
The early Church from the first century A.D. was not free from cruel gossip either. For many early Christians, the issues may be different but the pain of cruel tongues were just as real.
There were the sex slaves; paedophilia victims; prostitutes; gladiators who, for entertainment, fought to the death; slaves who were not given time off for worship; executioners; etc., in the Roman Empire. Many of these would become Christians. I wonder how well we’ll receive these people into our churches today?
More likely such will be judged and condemned as unworthy to be members by many of our churches. Yet these are the very ones whom Jesus came to sought to become his followers.
Mark 2:17… And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
Sanctimony has no place in a Christian’s heart.
How do you share the love of Jesus with a lonely man?
How do you tell a hungry man about the bread of life?
How do you tell a thirsty man about the living water of the Lord?
How do you tell him of His Word?
How do you tell a dying man about eternal life?
How do you tell an orphan child about the Father’s love?
How do you tell a man who’s poor about the wondrous riches of the Lord?
How do you tell him of His Word?
How do you tell a loveless world that God Himself is love?
How do you help a man who’s down to lift His eyes above?
How do you tell a bleeding man about the healing power of the Lord?
How do you tell him of His Word?
People who know go to people who need to know Jesus
People who love go to people alone without Jesus
For there are people who need to see,
People who need to love
People who need to know God’s redeeming love.
People who see go to those who are blind without Jesus
And this is people to people, yes,
People to people
All sharing together God’s love.
Photo by Joshua Ness on Unsplash
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