"The Hallelujahs"

Disclaimer: I am by no means, an agnostic or atheist. Nor am I anti-Christ. In fact, I am every ounce a believer of God..

If i wrote a book of jokes, quoting my parents on how every worldly disaster is related to the lack of faith in God, I would be rich by now. All in the name of God.. And yes, I'm being cynical. Last year, my mother had dengue fever twice. On both accounts, i had to literally drag her to the hospital to seek treatment. Then one day i understood why she was refusing treatment. A pastor came to our house to pray for her, and told her that God will help her get well, even if she didn't want to go to the hospital. She had been "cult-tized". My instant impulse, was to chase this man out of my house. But instead, against my "better" judgement, it told him that was the stupidest thing i've ever heard anyone say. There was a pin drop silence. Before the pastor left, he told me he would pray for me, i was pretty sure he was referring to my lack of faith in God (rolls eyes). Needless to say, my parents straight away started praying for their daughter who had gone astray and towards what they assumed was Satan's light.

I have been brought up in a home where my parents were moderately liberal when it came to religion. They allowed me to choose my denomination, and never pressured me into doing church activities. But somehow over the years, my parents became the radical ones.

I cannot stress enough on how much I HATE overly "hallelujah" churches and its' goers ( i call them the hallelujahs). They are pushy, whinny, preachy, judgmental and downright ridiculous when it comes to common sense. I might be walking on thin ice now condemning the "hallelujahs", but what the heck. My "God", understands what i'm getting at.

This is what I think. I believe that beneath the exterior of the overly pious and faithful "hallelujahs" is cowardice. The inability to deal with the challenges that life throws them, so they hide behind a veil of invisible protection, and stay in denial by simply accepting that everything is "god's will". They are afraid of manning up, and dealing with the pain and trials in life, so they quote God in everything that they do. They mask their desperation and despair by assuming, that what happened was a result of a better plan which is in store for them. They sit back and let disease consume them, because they are terrified of trying and failing, and most importantly having to bear responsibility for anything that goes wrong. It is easier to blame it on someone else, or to blame it on God. And then you have some others, who mask their corrupted practices, by claiming that its God's blessings. They pray incessantly and praise God incessantly, hoping deep down inside that God will forgive them for the bigger sins that they are hiding in their walk in closets and bank accounts. I don't know which God they worship, but the God i know, is not one to be bribed.

There are different ways of being God's servant. Not just evangelizing about Him and hoping to gain brownie points out of it. Some hallelujahs, are the ones who drive huge cars and live lavishly, and yet refuse to offer help those in need of food and shelter. Some other hallelujahs, are the ones who are too lazy to provide for their families, or to be useful people in society, and claim that they are happy with God's blessing. THAT, is disgusting...

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong in laying your lives into God's hands. But to sit back and do nothing, and expect miracles, is defiling the one special gift God gave us, the freedom to choose and to rationalize.
My concept of God may be flawed at times, some might say because of my lack of faith, but I have no doubt that He knows my allegiance to him.

There is no difference from the so called "muslim-terrorists" and "overly-pious christians". If you really want to take the Bible literally, then there is no difference between "murder" and "being judgemental". They are both sins...