A country is said to be blessed when endowed with diamonds. Ironically, there are countries accursed with incessant wars, because of endowment with such considered precious material resources. Why shouldn’t a country be blessed with humans, rather than considered blessed with mineral resources?
A human being wakes up to realize being alive, but unaware of the reason for being alive. While true that those parents could shape their child, character-wise, they would have no clue of the origin of that child.
This reality was more pronounced to Jesus’ parents, by an angel, who told Mary that she was carrying a blessed child in her womb. But Mary did not have any clue, as to how that could be possible. Mary was not different from other women also carrying babies in their wombs.
The only difference is that such women were not privileged to be told of the potential destinies, regarding the products of their wombs. There is no human born without a reason, in this world. The entire humanity may be unaware of this datum, and yet the datum is as true as tomorrow’s sunrise.
Out of the entire God’s creation, humans are special and incomparable to anything else. As created in God’s image, humans are not connected with anything of the material universe. Humans are as spiritual as God is spiritual. Obsession with the material universe reveals the ignorance that has caused the immutable troubles, unnecessarily bedevilling humanity.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (John 3:16-21 NIV)
There is no proof of Jesus having expressed concern over the abuse of mineral resources. Jesus’ concern was for the suppressed humanity. He had compassion for the sickly and the downtrodden. His preoccupation was to alleviate the lives of troubled humanity, rather than creating wealth to raise their standard of living.
What could be so special about humanity, having caused Jesus’ willingness to go through the agonies of the Cross? The intransigence of humanity is unbelievable. The spirit of captivity appears irresistible. Significant as how humans ought to realize, the veil needs removal, for freedom to be accessed.
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:18-19 NIV).
The aspect of “whoever,” implies randomness. But the window is open to those appreciating being more valuable than a diamond. Jesus did not die for mineral resources, or anything considered precious in this world. Jesus died for God’s special creation—represented in humanity. Why is the veil so damning and yet so enigmatic to the sentient beings, created in God’s image?
The light serves to remove obscurity. However, humans prefer remaining in darkness due to fear of being exposed. This leaves us with just one reason for humans’ subjection to the infamous condition of slavery. The enigmatic cause for wanting to remain in darkness is notorious for human slavery.
Humans feel good when highly spoken of as good among their fellow humans. It is gladdening to be highly spoken of as good. The only problem is that this is exactly the condition that nurtures pride. Others prefer being viewed as humble, rather than proud, for the same reason of wanting to be considered as good.
It seems impossible for humans to ever avoid being mired in the riddle of pride. Thus, it can be assumed impossible to be a Christian without risking being ridiculed. This reveals the truth that seems forever unpopular. Humans are used to accepting only pleasurable conditions and nothing else appeals.
Truth-telling carries the risk of exposing the fallacy of being considered dignified. Therefore, the term dignity does not apply to those truly heeding the call to believe in Jesus. Those, for whom Jesus died, are found to be unwilling to easily come to the light, for fear of being exposed.
Preserving their dignity is considered to be of utmost importance. This represents the only reason for Christianity’s fall into debauchery. A Christian assumes that preserving dignity sustains his attachment to Jesus, when the opposite is true. Christianity is synonymous with exposure to shame but enabling accessing the enlightenment.
A true Christian is willing to experience ridicule. Yet a false Christian resents being exposed to ridicule. A false Christian is unwilling to experience what potentially exposes his evil deeds, but unaware that his preservation of “dignity,” is unrelated to Christianity.
A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said (Luke 7:38-43 NIV).
The Pharisees, who had a low opinion of Jesus, missed the fact that dignity carried the condemnatory curse. Jesus allowed the behaviour of that considered sinful woman to dramatize, even at an inappropriate time. This is because Jesus knew the potential value of that degraded woman.
The Pharisees had been obsessed with the preservation of dignity, perfectly identifying with those of our civilization. In our current condition, the security men could be in trouble for allowing such undignified characters to disturb the dignitaries at the diner. How did she intrude, uninvited, anyway?
The woman did not consider matters of dignity, when doing what she deemed to be right. She simply desired to express her appreciation of restitution from her sinful condition. Jesus used that incident to highlight the principle of humility. The sole reason for humans to avoid repentance is the consideration of dignity.
The more dignified one becomes, the more difficult his acceptance of Jesus. The more one assumes to be anything worth preserving, the more distanced from Christ one becomes. Jesus values every human, including lunatics who, others consider undeserving of Jesus’ mercy.
Everything starts from the beginning. At birth, the child is surrounded by strangers, identified as relatives. If born under Christian care, the child is then taught customs and behavioural patterns that generally embrace the codified dignity.
This is how misled one becomes, as desiring approval from others, rather than approval from the unknown God. Moral values are manufactured to preserve dignity—viewed as embracing Christianity. Innocent as that child would be, he/she would be misled into being entrenched, in fallacious Christianity.
For security reasons, everyone wants to belong to some grouping. Conformity grants security. The apostle Paul advocated being transformed, rather than being conformed to the standards of this world. Paul’s advice can be impossible, without confronting the principle of conformity.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, given God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by renewing your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2 NIV).
Some conditions are impossible to avoid when existing with other people. Culture is one of them. But, more so, the consideration of being respected by others. Everyone wants respect, which grants dignity, but promoting the opposite of Christianity.
The more one wants to be treated with dignity the more one justifies avoiding Christianity. Interestingly, avoiding Christianity was recommended by Jesus, who pronounced this when advising those desiring to follow Him. Surprisingly, that advice appears most unpopular.
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for peace terms. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 14:31-35 NIV).
Salt is unusable, after losing its saltiness, viewed as inorganic, even for the compost. When having failed to stand the test of Christianity, that Christian becomes a candidate for the fiery furnace. This is how dangerous, fiddling with Christianity can be, but overlooked by many.
Christianity is not for pastime, engaged for what one gets, rather than for what one could give. True Christianity is suicidal, as synonymous with losing everything. Christianity was never designed for cowards, aiming at preserving dignity, more than carrying the cross of Jesus.
People behave in that manner due to not knowing their true identity. Jesus’ parents did not know Jesus, as much as Jesus knew His identity. Ordinary people did not know Jesus’ identity. The same applies to those aware of their respective identities. The awareness of one’s identity removes all timidity.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah (Matthew 16:13-20 NIV).
Peter’s understanding of Jesus’ origin had come directly from God. Jesus’ origin applies to every one of us. Although not regarded as Christ, none is different from Jesus, when aware of originating from God. Those aware of being God’s children cannot be intimidated by anything.
They cease desiring conforming to the patterns of this world. Like Jesus, they are not of this world but connected to God’s mind. Although losing their physical life, they are emboldened by being God’s children. This is a mystery unknown to ordinary humans, except true Christians.
This knowledge is secretive. Jesus advised His disciples to avoid divulging it, as it was not yet the right time. There is no precious jewel, comparable to God’s children, poised for eternity. God’s children are not different from God. The only price to attain it is renouncing personal dignity.
This poses a question of whether those declaring belief in Jesus, really understand or theirs would be just pep talk. Nevertheless, God’s Kingdom is priceless, except for renouncing one’s dignity. Jesus paved the way so that accessing God’s Kingdom is open for everyone.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99
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