To be Christian
T. H. Huxley wrote,
“Throughout the history of the Western world the Scriptures have been the great instigators of revolt against the worst forms of clerical and political despotism. The Bible has been the Magna Charts of the poor and of the oppressed; down to modern times no State has had a constitution in which the interests of the people are so largely taken into accounts, in which the duties so much more than the privileges of rulers are insisted upon, as that drawn up for Israel in Deuteronomy and in Leviticus; nowhere is the fundamental truth that the welfare of the State, in the long run, depends on the uprightness of the citizen so strongly laid down....The Bible is the most democratic book in the world.” T. H. Huxley.
The Bible is a book that deals with the welfare of the individual. There are over 2,000 scriptures that deal with responding to the needs of the poor. Jesus said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.
If you claim to be a Christian you should be treating others in the same way you would like to be treated. We should even be demanding of our religious leaders and our political leaders that they do the same.
Someone once put it this way to me.
James writes,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.
I like to point to health care. It to me is a basic human right. Everyone should have the right to the best possible health care. Yet millions not just in the third world but in the United States don’t have access to health care at all. And there are politicians who would make health care harder to get.
Even in Canada where I live, as good as the health care is, there is things lacking.
Today as I write this and as you read this people are dying of starvation in a world that has enough food to feed all it’s inhabitants. Even in the western nations people go hungry because they have to chose between putting a roof over their head and food.
There are many living on the street simply because they can’t find affordable housing. How sad.
Christian organizations do help. But we as individual Christians need to be calling on our leaders both religious and political to do more to help the poor.
It is what Jesus would have us do.
Please think about it.
T. H. Huxley wrote,
“Throughout the history of the Western world the Scriptures have been the great instigators of revolt against the worst forms of clerical and political despotism. The Bible has been the Magna Charts of the poor and of the oppressed; down to modern times no State has had a constitution in which the interests of the people are so largely taken into accounts, in which the duties so much more than the privileges of rulers are insisted upon, as that drawn up for Israel in Deuteronomy and in Leviticus; nowhere is the fundamental truth that the welfare of the State, in the long run, depends on the uprightness of the citizen so strongly laid down....The Bible is the most democratic book in the world.” T. H. Huxley.
The Bible is a book that deals with the welfare of the individual. There are over 2,000 scriptures that deal with responding to the needs of the poor. Jesus said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.
If you claim to be a Christian you should be treating others in the same way you would like to be treated. We should even be demanding of our religious leaders and our political leaders that they do the same.
Someone once put it this way to me.
If you love your freedoms,
you should want that for others.
If you like to be loved
you should love others unconditionally.
If you have a good education
you should wish that for others.
If you have good health care,
you should wish that for others.
In short as Jesus said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.James writes,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” James 2:14-20.
I like to point to health care. It to me is a basic human right. Everyone should have the right to the best possible health care. Yet millions not just in the third world but in the United States don’t have access to health care at all. And there are politicians who would make health care harder to get.
Even in Canada where I live, as good as the health care is, there is things lacking.
Today as I write this and as you read this people are dying of starvation in a world that has enough food to feed all it’s inhabitants. Even in the western nations people go hungry because they have to chose between putting a roof over their head and food.
There are many living on the street simply because they can’t find affordable housing. How sad.
Christian organizations do help. But we as individual Christians need to be calling on our leaders both religious and political to do more to help the poor.
It is what Jesus would have us do.
Please think about it.
