“The people who are trying to force you to be circumcised are the ones who want to show off and boast about external matters. They do it, however, only so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even those who practice circumcision do not obey the Law; they want you to be circumcised so that they can boast that you submitted to this physical ceremony.” (Galatians 6:12-13)
How many have you ever known in life who try to “save” someone, who have this agenda of getting someone to become a Christian, but yet at the same time, do many things that contradict much of the very religion they are trying to “save” someone into?
Today’s Daily Reflection’s passage is one that speaks to this very thing, but from long ago in Apostle Paul’s time. In this Galatians passage, Paul’s referring to the many who were so intent in his time on getting a person circumcised for them to become Jewish and then proudly sharing that with everyone when they did, solely to boast of their success, even when many of them weren’t even following the very laws of their religion they were converting people into.
As I’ve stated plenty of times already in my life, this is why I don’t label myself a Christian, because I will never match up to its laws, rules, and practices that are laid forth in the Bible. It’s why I never try to “save” anyone either, because frankly, I need “saving” myself and work on that daily with God directly for Him to guide me in His own way. I honestly believe people are meant to find their own individual paths with God, paths that allow God to speak to them in unique ways, but not paths that are shoved onto them through fear or force, which is often how the practice of “saving” comes across.
I’ve known of many Christians in my life who do this, who try to force their religious views upon another, often through fear, and especially to those who aren’t of any religious background. They try so hard to get a person to see their ways and hope that they’ll get them to become a Christian, and when they do, they tend to share that achievement with everyone, feeling so good about themselves. You know what all that really is. It’s ego and nothing more.
I learned on my spiritual walk with God how important it is to move away from ego and become humble, and to demonstrate that by often putting myself and my needs second and another’s first. When I’ve done that, I find I’m able to emanate more of what I wish to become in life, that being a man of peace, love, light, and joy, and each time I have, it seems as if people have naturally gravitated to me and wanted to know more about my spiritual walk, which is ultimately how I think God wants people to get to know Him. But trying to get people to know God by “saving” them tends to become an action more of the mind than of the Spirit and places the focus more on the “saver” than the “savee”.
I just wish people would let God talk to them in God’s own awesome ways. Because God really does have an infinite number of ways for each and every individual on this planet to connect to Him. But trying to force one’s religion and views upon another, in an attempt to “save” them, I think is the very reason why so many continue to fall away from God these days. Maybe it’s time we all start practicing a lot more humility on our spiritual paths by letting everyone find their own path to God, rather than shoving our own paths upon them. Maybe in doing so, more will start finding the true light of God within them, as then the world will become far more filled with peace, love, light, and joy.
Dear God, may I never force upon anyone the things I’ve learned on my spiritual path with You. May I instead work on becoming more and more humble each and every day in the hopes I too will one day embody the peace, light, light, and joy, I see in You.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
