Hello my cherished ones!
Very many R words, which one are you talking about, roses, rent, or rum?
Not exactly any of them, I am talking about Religion. How religious are you? And how would you define religion? Your religion for that matter. “I am not a religious person but I try my best to be good to other people” is a statement that someone once told me after I asked them which church they go to. It was a very brilliant answer at that moment but later, I came to realize that for me it was about half of what I would define as my true religion. It is in my purest of intentions not to judge anybody but to give my genuine view about this word that has shown its self to be very controversial.
So what is it really sis?
Most of us have grown up knowing religion to simply be Christianity or Islam, Hindu, Buddhism and all the other religions there are but now as we still grow, maybe things have changed or let’s say we just perceive them quite differently. So apparently, my expression of religion would be quite different from(and simpler than ) following a certain congregation and simply belonging there. I would define religion as simply a relationship.
And that’s it?
Well not quite. Let me chew the bone a little more by splitting this ‘relationship’ into two:
- The relationship with the Lord God our creator.
- Relationship with our neighbors (amongst each other as humans).
First of all, I do not mean to dispute the very famous theory that Charles Darwin, in close collaboration with my history teachers, has tried to instill in me, evolution. Holding on to the theory would literally mean that the first humans were some apes called Australopithecus but I strongly believe that Adam and Eve were not these Australopithecus things, but were all created by God alongside heaven, earth and the other animals (this is where the apes come in).I also have confidence in the fact that I am answerable to a greater Force which is the Lord who is God that put us here on earth. We are under obligation to serve Him and fulfill the plan and purpose for which he made us. I mean, He gives us life, isn’t it obvious we should honor and worship Him?
Would you prove it?
You bet! Ya’ll remember that guy Moses? The cool guy who actually went up a mountain to meet up with God? You also remember he came back with stone tablets on which God’s rules were written for the Israelites (and us) to follow? The first 4 of those rules are crystal clear on our relationship with Him(you can refer to Exodus 20 if you have access to a Bible). He makes this relationship easier by telling us how exactly He wants us to treat Him. I have seen relationships break because one spouse acted contrary to the expectations of the other simply because they had no idea of these expectations but our relationship with God is short of such a limitation.
More juice?
I’ll gladly pour you some. According to Matthew 22:37, when that Pharisee asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart ,soul and mind” is what Jesus replied. This should be more than enough to prove that a great relationship with God is the first thing that we should follow more religiously than updating our social media profiles.
Number two:
You are not and I am not the only human breathing around this place. There are billions of us trying to live over here! And all of us, I believe, were made by this very same God also called I AM .It is only right that we all make each other’s lives bearable by treating each other with some love and respect. Sounds easy, yeah? I’m afraid it really isn’t so. We find it simpler to show some love only to people we know or we are related to or some celebrity who is not even half aware of our existence. The last 6 commandments talk about what we should NOT do, in relation to other people; our fellow human beings. They warn us against the things that are harmful to our fellow humans if we do them and also displease the Lord, whose intentions are for us to live happily without damaging one another.
So what exactly should we do?
Jesus is the answer. In the same Matthew 22, he goes further to mention the second greatest commandment which is to love your neighbor as yourself. In this context , your neighbor could be 1000 miles from where you are and they could be anyone; that bothersome kid who’s always stretching their hand to you for some coins by the street, or the old lady that asks for direction when you’re running late on a commitment (and bad thoughts cross your mind that they could be a robber in this insecure world) or anybody we could help out in any way.
I am not saying we should all be Drake and give out millions to charity but if you can afford to do that then, why not? We can be our own Drake and do what he did in our own ways. We don’t have to do too much and go above our means in order to show some love to this ‘neighbor’ of ours. It could be sharing a meal, old clothes and a few coins or even offering a service like laundry to that local nursing home or something. If I made a list of these things I don’t think I’d be able to exhaust it.
That is how I perceive my religion. In conclusion it’s mainly relating with my Creator and my fellows.
Name of my religion?
Duh! I just quoted the Bible but maybe for the record, I am Christian by faith.
However I hope this serves as an inspiration to anyone and everyone to internalize on their spiritual selves and not just do stuff as routine but interiorize and identify whether or not they are living in conformity with the true definition of their religion.
The world is a vast space that accommodates very many religious affiliations as well as the people in these religions. My dream is for us to also harbor one another’s diversity instead of fighting over which religion is wrong and which one is right because the fact that we are all of the same kind (humankind) is sufficient to stick us together.
For the Christians, as we mark Christ’s resurrection, may you also revive any ties you think you might have lost not only with Him but also the rest of the Trinity.
Until we read again!
Have a happy chirpy time!
B.Incredible 