Thursday, January 17, 2019

Judgment, hypocrisy, and other sins in today’s world


Are you always the perfect one and everyone else is slacker? Do you have all the answers all the time? Do you find yourself pushing your views on people and attempting to make them feel guilty about not thinking like you? Do you like to announce to the world your latest diet and then make sure everyone eats just like you? Are you the only person in the world who cares about the environment and the downtrodden? Then congratulations! You are probably suffering from something, and ticking off a lot of people around you!

I know this is a sarcastic way to start an article, but sometimes things like this need to be said. This is not about politics and political parties, and this is not about social justice or morality. This is about how the internet has made everyone an expert, this how social media has made people forget how to be truly social with real people, and this how the term “IN VINO VERITAS” became a reality due to the anonymity of mobile technology.

We are witnessing hypocrisy in its highest form by people who are supposed to profess Christian values, and we are witnessing a mockery of religion from those who claim to be Christians. Mahatma Gandhi famously said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ”. This could also be said for Islam, and Judaism; the world’s other largest religions. Hate has always been spewed in the name of religion, but now we have to hear and see it in this never ending news cycle.
 It is ok to believe what you want to believe, it is ok to support whatever politics you want to support. Whatever you believe and whatever you support, make sure you are espousing your own thoughts and using your own words, make sure that your beliefs are part of the authentic you; and make sure that you are consistent and not a double-standard hypocrite

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III
The ETeam                  

PS, I do not claim any religious expertise, but I though these quote from 3 religious books were appropriate

·         John 4:20: If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, cannot love God whom he hath not seen”.
·         Surah AT – Tawbah – Verse 67: “The hypocrite men and the hypocrite women are as one another; they enjoin evil and forbid good, and they keep their hands shut. They have forsaken Allah, so He has forsaken them, (too). The hypocrites are indeed the transgressors.”
·         Sotah 22: What is a pious fool like? For example he sees a woman drowning in the river, and he says: 'It is improper for me to look upon her and rescue her'”. Piety is great but misplaced piety is deadly.