Thursday, October 29, 2009

In God We Trust



This country is a place that has freedoms other countries don't. Most people don't choose to practice their faith outwardly, but if you're Muslim and a woman, you might cover your head or if you're a Jewish male you might be seen donning a skullcap. As for Christians, I believe they should submit to a different standard.

A couple of weeks ago, Trevor Keezer of Florida said that he was fired from Home Depot because of his "One Nation God" pin which he said he wore to support his brother in the war overseas. While the sentiment seems noble, when I think of his life as a Christian, it comes across a little bit below the mark.

The former cashier began to bring his Bible to work and while the news portrays this man as more of a patriot rather than a religious person, I have to question his and the Christianity of Americans today. More than any other major faith including Muslims and Jewish people, Christians are called to lead a life that few follow and a path that's difficult and filled with persecution.

Unfortunately, the line between secular and religious has been skewed in this country thanks to the rights we have. Christians are probably one of the most prominent groups that voice the wrongs which have been done to them. I won't lie, the majority of people are turned off by Christians and their faith. But instead of embracing a life of humility, some suffering, and thankfulness that we have a God who loves us--we fight for our "rights".

In Somalia, a Christian was KILLED because they refused to wear a veil, while in my native country of Pakistan a man was killed because he "desecrated" the Qur'an. To this day people are stoned to death and even crucified in the name of Christ. These people take John 15:18-21 literally when it says “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you...If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you...because they do not know Him who sent Me."

The bottom line for American Christians which they forget when they fight for "rights" in this country is that they're not called to be loved or even apart of this world. The issues of this country which are law are not ones they have to follow or even live by, if anything what they do on their own and in their lives speaks louder than taking away the rights of those around them.