Tuesday, June 21, 2005

One's Own House

I don't know very many people who would like for some stranger to show up at your home unexpectedly and then to critique your level of cleanliness and order, the paint color in the living room and/or the architectural style of the home itself. I think most people would say to themselves, "This person has got a lot of nerve!"

Most people would have even a worse reaction if you later learned that the critiquing stranger's home is just as messy or much worse than yours. That would be really audacious, don't you think?

For me, this is how religion plays out in our society. Far too many people spend far too much of their time examining other people's choices and condemning them based on their OWN religious beliefs. Yet, for all the time they spend critiquing and judging others, they spend a scant amount of time looking inward.

Whatever religious or philosophical belief a person calls their very own should be applied to themselves, first and foremost. If a person can bring their own house into complete order, then maybe they can go look at other people's houses.

Since Christians believe that we all are sinners, this should preclude Christians from passing judgment on anyone else. This is what Jesus meant when he said that you shouldn't worry about the mote in your neighbor's eye when you have boulder in your own eye.

If you've visited this blog before, you know I am very critical of Christianity. While it is certainly true that I feel there are a lot of inconsistencies and contradictions within this faith system, my main objections is not with the religion itself but with how it's practiced by so-called Christians!

On the whole, Christians seem too preoccupied with their neighbors. Instead of viewing their chosen faith as a personal relationship between themselves and their defined maker, they use it as a bludgeon in an attempt to beat people into submission, both within the flock and outside of it.

You don't see Taoists running around the world threatening others with eternal damnation. Taoism is an introspective belief system. The main concern for a Taoist isn't how others conduct their lives, but how the Taoist her/himself conducts our own lives.

If more people focused more energy on getting their own ducks in a row, they'd soon find they don't have the energy to be worrying about everybody else's ducks. More importantly, if more people took the time to walk on their own spiritual path and not worry about where others are walking, we would have a more harmonious planet by default.

1 comment:

  1. I absolutely agree. The exploits of Jim Bakker and Jerry Falwell are great examples of what you're describing, and on a gigantic scale. Here were two guys, spewing damnation for non-believers and "sinners" when their own actions flew in the face of the core of their religions' teachings.


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