When I was deeply involved in evangelical Christianity my goal
and fear was always to please "God". Reading the bible many times
and preaching from same said not to mention being involved in
thousands of bible studies it became pretty clear to me that you
did everything he said to do or else.There was only one problem
though. Every sect of Christianity had their own interpretations of
what was pleasing and/or lawful in the eyes of God. If you were a
Baptist and spoke in tongues you had a demon in you and were going
to hell. If you were Assemblies of God or Church of God and you
didn't speak in tongues you did not have the Holy Spirit in you and
you were going to hell. If you were not a baptized member of the
only true church (Catholic Church, they say that one along with the
rest of them) then you were going to hell because there is no
salvation outside of the Holy See and if you were a member of the
Seventh Day Adventists and you did not take Saturday out then you
have violated the Sabbath and you are going to hell.With over
40,000 denominations of Christianity alone today you can stay
pretty busy making sure you are following all the rules or else. In
all those years though I found everybody, regardless of which
denomination they were in, pretty much did whatever they liked to
do and ignored the rest anyway and any attempt at trying to convict
them of a doctrinal violation was usually a waste of
time.Fortunately for all of us there is one guide line given to all
of us at birth that none of us have to argue about or try to prove
right which is what every religion on the planet is founded on and
that of course is the Golden Rule.
As a parent I know nothing pleases me more than to see my children
treat others well and with respect since I would hope that in a
small way it reflected back on me. On the other hand though If my
kids were to wake up everyday and tell me how much they adored me
and loved me or always told me all the rules there were obeying or
told everyone what a great guy I was and how everyone should listen
to me but treated everyone terrible I would not be pleased at
all.Since the whole universe operates on the law of love then the
only single best, most important, most effective thing anyone can
do is the Golden Rule and that my friends is what gets the notice
of what some call higher beings or what others call God because you
are not living until you are giving to others how you would like
them to give to you.
