
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” -1 Tim 2:1-4 NLT
Many Christian religions today are filled with those who are capitalizing on, “We are the ones living a more out-loud and God fearing life than all the other Christian religions out there”, rather than the pressing issues we are ALL facing as a failing Christian nation. We, the church, have found ourselves in a sad state of affairs. We waste our time arguing with other Christian religions for our place on top, as if somehow we need to prove our loyalty to God through these actions. In some cases we criticize, mock, or even ridicule other Christian religions for the faults we find in their doctrinal beliefs. All the while, we are only proving our own failing attitudes. The proud Christian flaunts the fact that they are at the top of some kind of religious pyramid, and those who are most like them are toward the top, while those who are the most different are scraping the bottom. The really sad part is, often times this proud Christian even finds pleasure in believing everyone else is going to hell. Sadly, it brings them a twisted sense of satisfaction, because in their minds it only proves their religion to be more right. Yes, no doubt “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32), but the truth without love is nothing more than “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1).
“…If I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” -1 Cor. 13:2 NLT
Take the Catholics for Instance
The fact is, no matter if you and I disagree with their doctrinal beliefs, they are a major help to the Christian world today. How? Well… let’s just ponder these questions for a moment. Who in the Christian world has the loudest voice? The Catholics, and in spite of what us Christians think of them, they use their voice to fight against evil policies that the government tries to force upon us all. Do the Catholics fight against abortion and stem cell research, even though it’s not popular to do so? Yes! Do they fight against same-sex marriage? Yes! Do they fight against the sex slave trade all around the world? Yes! Do they stand against pornography and fight against its production? Yes! Do they still believe and teach that you should wait to have sex until you’re married? Yes! Do they fight against, and do their part to stop world hunger and poverty? Yes! Most importantly, do they believe you should honor God? Yes! Not bad for a religion that we tend to scorn.
“They Have Never Helped Me!”
I can tell you this for sure, the Catholics have helped every Christian religion. If it weren’t for the buffer they provide between us little guys (in number size only), and the world governments, we would all have a fight on our hands to the likes of which we’ve never seen before. The fight would be so immense, not one of us could really stand under the weight of it on our own! We all know that the world governments want to force things upon religion. If the world governments had their way, we would all have to go underground! So if not for the Catholics, with their size and strength, fighting against world governments and protecting the religious freedoms we all enjoy, we would have one massive fight on our hands!
“Other Religions Don’t Believe the Right Way!”
When I hear people tearing down other religions, I’m reminded of the time when Jesus’ disciples came to him complaining about “other religious people’s works”. Jesus had this to say; “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:39-40 NLT). Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not telling you that the Catholics and all Christian religions are doctrinally correct; but I am telling you, we should be thankful for the contributions the Catholics, and other Christian religions, have made in the past few years.
Could it be that the devil is having his way as he watches us fuss and fight among ourselves about who is more right than whom, as people all around us die in their sin? We need to check our attitudes, because if we don’t love every religious person, no matter what they believe, our own personal religion is in vain. We need to stop tearing down other Christians and start loving what it is we are all truly fighting for! James said in 1:26, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:26, 27 NLT).
Unless we put down our rocks of religious pride, learn to love one another and to work together with our fellow brother and sister, there will be strongholds that will never crumble! No matter how much you and I pray! We NEED one another, to love one another, to care for one another, and to pray for one another. How can any man stop believing what he has been taught his whole life and come over to “the knowledge of truth”, when we can’t even practice loving one another first?
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” -John 13:34, 35 NLT
“God, give us a heart to love one another. May we love and be loved by all those who are calling on your name around us. Help us to look past religion and to see people, people who are hurting and confused just like we are sometimes. Forgive us for our religious prejudice and heal our wounded hearts. Make us more like you Lord.”
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