are we giving God the glory we ought to?

*warning: post is SUPER long. not for the weak at heart but for those who likes challenges. post may also be confusing in the beginning or may not be tied up properly by the writer. writer is not a very talented writer.*


"why can't we give up something for Him, when He had given up His life for us?" -Dr. Ian Chai

and there was silence.


isn't it funny how we love to get good gifts from people and not give good gifts to people?

isn't it funny how we want people to care for us yet we are unwilling to spend a little time just to say "how are you?"?

isn't it funny when we expect people to sacrifice their time for us but just look the other way when someone needs us?

isn't it funny how we complain about how the food sucks to how bad an event was organized but yet failed to see how the hungry longed for our sucky food to how the organizers tried to please every complainer.

isn't it funny how we expect so much from God but yet we don't give as much to God?

isn't it funny how we want God to bless us with money and yet we cant treat a starving friend?

isn't it funny how we say "Lord, i want to do Your will" but when we don't like it, we make our own choices?

isn't it funny how we say "use me, Father" but run away and hide in the comforts of our rooms?

isn't it funny when we say we want to give God glory in everything and in anything we do, and still break the simplest of all rules in the country, states, organizations, universities, schools, and homes?


i feel frustrated and disturbed. more so, disappointed. with society and human selfishness. more so, with those that call themselves bringer of the Good News, christians. What Good News can one bring to a society when one does not live the life of the Good News? "i like your Jesus, but i don't like your christians", quoted by one of the noblest man ever to live on this earth, Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi. true isn't it? we always say we want to be like Jesus, but are we really trying? maybe we think we are, but in many times we have overlooked even the smallest things of it all. if we can't even obey the smallest commandment of God or follow the smallest footstep of Jesus, how can we be proud to say that we have obeyed the greatest commandment of all? how can we be proud to say that we are walking with Jesus day by day, side by side? hypocrisy. that's what we are.

our christian fellowship theme this year in my campus is "building up radical people! - BURP!" what does it really mean to be radicals? the definition from dictionary.com defines radical as:
rad·i·cal (rd-kl)
adj.

1. Arising from or going to a root or source; basic: proposed a radical solution to the problem.
2. Departing markedly from the usual or customary; extreme: radical opinions on education.
3. Favoring or effecting fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions: radical political views.
4. Linguistics. Of or being a root: a radical form.
5. Botany. Arising from the root or its crown: radical leaves.
6. Slang. Excellent; wonderful.

yes, radicals means to go back to the root. in fact it came from the word "root" itself (in greek i think). the root of how everything started. this year, we've had enough of the "activities" in cf. it's time we grew up and really get into the root of christianity. christianity is not just a mere religion. the best example to refer to as what christianity is all about is of course the root Himself, Jesus. He was a total radical. can you imagine it? He came into a society that was living under rules and regulations and tried to change it and change their mindsets so that they'd focus on our heavenly Father and society instead. the whole sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) shows how rad He was! amazing isn't it? and yet it is so hard for us to even obey those little things. He showed us the root of christianity itself. well, this is a whole topic by itself. maybe i'll talk about that another day.

the point of me bringing this radical part up is so we can look at the example of Jesus, to change our mindsets and our lifestyle to be different. the one thing that got my heart really frustrated, disturbed and disappointed was the fact of how we were portraying ourselves as christians with our compromising stands. where is our stand for Jesus? have we all been so numb that everything we do seems "okay" in this society we live in? we had some discussions in cf about co-habitation, piracy, smoking, drinking, gambling and clubbing and classroom ethiquette (attendance honesty) that day. it really made my heart feel so heavy. yes, although it may seem like they were grey areas that we were discussing about, but certain things are just not that grey afterall. some are clearly stated in the bible. we do not need to justify ourselves in what we do and make it seem like it is a grey area or it is "okay" to do it. in many cases, we may say we are not fully convicted, therefore we just do it or don't do it. i think if we needed conviction to do something or to not do something, the whole world will be living selfish lives and and we would be living a life that serves our own wants, desires and pleasures. what if Jesus needed to be convicted to die on the cross for us, and he wasn't convicted to do so? wasn't it the obedience that he portrayed back there at the garden of gethssemane? and sometimes we can be so proud to declare what we have done or have not done...because we were not convicted.

you know, what breaks my heart even more was what some leaders in the cf said during the discussions. the years of the older generation christians, trying to help the younger generation realize the importance of keeping our standards for Jesus is going down the drains. signing of attendance for our friends who doesn't attend class or asking our friends to sign for us when we don't attend class has become such a norm. this is a stand i hold very close to my heart. yes, some may say that everyone has a different pace of studying, so as long as they can manage it, it's okay. some may say that if it helps our friends (or ourselves), then what harm can there be? what happened to the glorifying God part? what happened to our responsibilities as a student to attend classes and learn? what happened to the "let me be a good testimony to my friends as a christian" part? what happened to the obedience part...?

this generation has lost its respect for the elders. why do i say so? i've been observing in many places. and sad to say, it's happening amongst cf members as well. yes, he may not have won some people's respect. he may think in a very different way than we do. he may be from a different generation. but that does not mean we should not respect him. i respect him tremendously! for all the things he has gone through. for all the differences he has tried to make in the university, for the impact he's left on the lives of people, for being brave enough to linger around, talk to, join the prayer of the religion of majority in our country! i can say boldly that no one, i reapeat, NO ONE from our cf or even campus would dare enter the prayer place every friday! although i cant really click with him, he has earned my every respect. if it was not for him, we wouldn't even have a cf. if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be able to get the cf room everyweek. it is so saddening that every time he speaks, we don't really listen. every time he speaks i hear whispers of "there he goes again". but wasn't he right? wasn't what he said right? i think by now, we all know who this person is. if it was not what he said that night, i think God's glory might have been compromised.

even as i blog this, i am speaking for myself as well. i'm ashamed to say that many a times i've failed to keep my stands strong. failed to glorify God in all i do. i'm guilty of many stands i've compromised. i'm guilty of many of the above stated issues we discussed on. sometimes it's hard to give it up. but can we at least try? can we at least be challenged to change our lifestly and turn around? i'm challenging all those who are reading my blog. even to myself. glorifying God is not only constrained to praising His name in public, or shouting "God is good!" in front of people. glorifying God also means we honour Him even behind closed doors, when no one is looking. glorifying God also means we abide by the rules and the authorities. glorifying God means we abide by traffic rules. glorifying God means we work with integrity. little little things, people do see it. even if it's not seen, we should be glorifying His name in EVERYTHING that we do. this is a challenge. dare u take it?

"why can't we give up something for Him, when He had given up His life for us?" -Dr. Ian Chai- and there was silence. need i say more?


-bea-