Tuesday, September 13, 2005

# 74: Your Choice of Evil

Let’s say we have only two choices in life regarding the type of evil that could/would confront us. Which one would most of us choose: a thief whose only bad habit is to steal, or a sneaky, deceptive evildoer? We know the thief would steal from us when given a chance; therefore, we would be on our guard. As for the deceptive evildoer, we wouldn’t know what he/she was up to until the dirty work was done. He/she could kill, rape, lie, kidnap, deceive, blackmail, cheat, etc. As the word “etcetera” points out, the list could be endless.

In life, we have basically five types of people: 1) atheists, who firmly believe there is no God; 2) agnostics, who question the existence of God, and are unwilling to accept supernatural revelations; 3) skeptics, who don’t believe in the existence of a God but sometimes have doubts about their choice; 4) a large group that definitely believes there is a God (some may even go to church regularly), but they do not live as believers in God are required to live; and 5) a small group that not only believes in the existence of God but also has an active desire to live as He commands.

Now, let’s attempt to look at this world’s religious situation from God’s vantage point. How would He grade these groups from the best to the worst? A score of “10” would the best and “1” would be the worst. How well do you know God? Before you read any further, test yourself to see how close you come. I may not know much, but from living in God’s company for many years, my answers will hopefully be close to His. Here goes. The first group, atheists, I will give about a “3”. The second group, agnostics, I will give a “1”. Skeptics I will give a “4”. The fourth group, “churchgoers,” I will give a “2”. And the last group, true believers, I will give an “8”. Let me tell you why I was kind of tough on some/many church goers. Though they may not be aware of it, many are being deceived and are unknowingly living a life of deceit. “Having their cake and eating it too,” they unknowingly deceive others including their children–modern kids are wiser than we think, so they may not be deceived or swayed by their parents’ facade. Why was I so easy on the skeptics? I truly believe they can convert to genuine Christianity much more easily than churchgoers or people who already believe they are on God’s side and believe no conversion is necessary.

The reason God is intensely tough on the church crowd is because the devil (Satan) is the greatest deceiver of all. It is not godly to steal, but in comparison to deceit, a thief’s occupation is like playing the part of a holy angel. What I am attempting to say is that there is a wide chasm of difference between a thief and a deceiver. Again, I am in no way attempting to justify thievery. It is a sin against God and mankind.

Let me put it another way. To get the most beautiful thing on earth (a genuine, close relationship with our Creator) and make a deceptive ritual of it is the most grievous act that can be committed against God. Here is another way of putting it: The most reputable jeweler in a large city has been selling diamond rings to brides-to-be for years. After many years, this jeweler is exposed as selling nothing but fake diamonds. What a shock for many, many people. Their wedding rings were all fake. In other words, a thief is expected to steal, but not a reputable jeweler. In this world, “men of the cloth” are seen as good and honest men/women. And that is the way it should be. But it is a godly shame to say that most are money-hungry leeches that will preach anything to keep/get spiritually naive people into their church buildings. Again, it is not so much what they preach—most will have a Bible in their hand when preaching—but their deceptions lie in what they don’t tell their followers. Then a few guys/gals like me come along and fill in those deleted verses, which are not easy to digest.

Here is a good analogy: All of our lives, we were told that ice cream, cake, burgers and fries, and all other junk foods were healthy for us. Then, after eating this tasty food most of our lives, we were told by nutritionists that we have been tricked by the makers of these popular foods. We were also told that broccoli, spinach and other distasteful foods are super-healthy for us, and that those other popular, good- tasting foods will send us on a LONG, SLOW, PAINFUL, trip to our graves. Can you see multitudes changing their eating habits? They now may believe the food they have been eating is not the best for them, but to change, they may say, “No way in hell am I going to change.” And believe it or not, it is even more difficult, if not impossible, to change how we live and what we believe. The two cannot be separated. Am I exaggerating about “Religion's Crime Against God”? I don’t believe human words can begin to tell the scope of this worldwide catastrophe. The sad thing is that this blog alone can’t even start to make a dent against these godly abominations. And still, God wants everyone who knows Him to just keep exposing these deceptive atrocities, and He will take care of what we can’t. If you are one who is in this unique category, just keep plugging along. May God bless all of you with the best He has to offer, which is Himself.

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