Greetings
in the precious name of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who said, "Behold, your
mother" (John 19:27).
There are some problems that demand our immediate attention. There are others
that are just as crucial, yet we don't pay them the attention they deserve.
These issues appear as news items in the newspaper or on television but not
much action is taken by anyone. The society including the church has become
apathetic to these issues. I want to talk about such an important, yet neglected,
issue this month. To begin with, let me quote an article from Hindustan Times
Jan 5, 2007 New Delhi, Metro page 6.
'Like most men of his age, 77-year-old C.P. Chopra loves to live in the past.
His memories wander the corridors of the Lok Sabha, where he served as a section
officer for many years. Tales of ministers and their quirks pour out of him
when he is in a mood to chat. Never does he mention about his family. People
caring for him at the Help Foundation are not surprised. He is one of the city's
many old people being spitted out of homes they helped to build. Chopra was
left at the Old Age Home on a Thursday, after his family refused to take him
home from the Apollo Hospital, where he underwent treatment since October 2005.
His son Unnat lives abroad. His wife Jyothi, weakened by illness, lives alone
in Lajpat Nagar and is in no state to get him back home. His daughter-in-law
Pinki, who lives in a house in Karol Bagh, refuses to accept the responsibility.
When the Hindustan Times contacted Pinki, she said she had no idea that Chopra
was now in an old age home and not in the hospital. "The doctors ruined
his case. How can I bring him home when he is not well? You should talk to his
wife and not me," said Pinki.'
There are several more cases like this. But what action is the church taking?
Are we teaching our believers to take care of the elderly?
When I was in the army, there was a Christian soldier who never wrote to his
aged mother. One day, this Christian told me as he read his mother's letter,
"My mother is asking me to write her a letter. Can't she see that I am
alive as she gets the money order from me every first week of the month?"
I know of a well-employed man in Delhi who refuses to go and see his mother
when she visits his sister, just a few kilometres away from his home. The mother
has pleaded with him to come and see her; but he is angry with his mother for
even coming to Delhi.
I got a letter from a lady just recently who said that her brother had brought
his mother from her home state to his working place promising to take care of
her. But once he sold her property back home, he did not want to have anything
to do with her. So he and his wife brought the mother to his sister's house
and left her there. They were interested only in the mother's property. Once
they got it, they do not want to know where and how she is doing. Now whenever
the sister calls the brother to inform him that their mother is hospitalised,
he quips, "Don't call me."
In another home, a son and daughter-in-law will go to the church after breakfast
and will come home only very late in the afternoon. The parents cannot have
anything to eat, until the daughter-in-law is back.
In another family, a father died. The message was sent to the son who lived
two kilometers away in a huge house he has constructed with the money he earned
from the Gulf. He did not go to see the dead body of the father. I personally
know that the father worked hard to give a decent education to the children.
No, none of them are non-Christians or unsaved people. These are people who
go to church. Some are very active in the church. These people are not in-laws
but 'out laws' and must be sent to prison.
The fifth commandment says, "Honour your father and mother…"
the only command- ment that is given with a blessing. (Ex. 20:12 & Eph.
6:2) But which church has preached this message in the last 12 months, 24 months
or even 60 months?
There is a problem with the church today. The church will only preach and discuss
issues that will not hurt the sentiment of believers. The Pentecostals and Baptists
come down heavily on the use of tobacco, liquor, and cigarettes. Earlier, they
used to condemn movies but today they won't talk of it because every house has
a TV and every one is watching movie or TV serials. The mainstream churches
like CNI or Marthoma do not condemn the use of cigarettes or liquor because
they do not want to offend their members who indulge in these 'small sins'.
The church today preaches the soft gospel or 'don't hurt any one in our congregation'
gospel. They will talk mostly from Old Testament and will not touch on any controversial
subject that will hurt a church member. But that is not what Jesus or Paul did.
And I believe that we should do what God did in Old Testament, and Jesus and
the apostles did in the New Testament.
I heard a story of a visiting preacher who ministered in a revival meeting in
a church. At the end of the first day, the elders gathered together and advised
him not to preach against adultery. Apparently, some members were offended because
they had more than one wife. (Do you know that there are churches in North East
India where people are married more than once by the church? The only difference
is that the first wedding is done in the sanctuary and the second wedding is
done in the adjoining hall. You can see this in the invitation card that is
sent out.) On the second day they told him not to condemn smoking and drinking
in his sermons as this had offended some other church members. (When I preached
against smoking in one state, the Bishop informed me, 'Do not attack our tribal
culture.') On the third day after the message, the committee said that he should
not talk against idol worship, as there were some people who kept some kind
of ancestral idols. Next day the preacher asked them, 'Tell me my friends, what
should I preach tomorrow?' They replied, "You can preach against Jews.
There are no Jews in our church."
Actually that is what is happening in our churches today. The ministers won't
talk about the malaise present in the body of Christ. It is written in the Word
of God about such physicians, "They have healed the grievous wound of the
daughter of my people slightly" (Jer 8:11). The Living Bible says, "They
give useless medicine for my people's grievous wounds."
I see ugly foul-smelling ulcerous wounds in the body of Christ, but the shepherds
are silent about it: -
* Dowry demanded according to the status of the boy and not according to the
family share of the girl.
* Lying. It is considered as a necessary evil in Indian culture. The Bible classifies
it as a deadly sin.
(Rev 22:15)
* Encroaching God's property or stealing God's money.
* Mistreating the elderly.
One Hindu convert told me that when he went to the Bible College he did not
lock his box because he thought he was in the company of honest brothers. As
anyone can imagine, when he came back from class, he found that his money and
few other things were stolen. Next day he locked his steel box. However, this
happened again when he received a money order. He had kept the money in the
box and the box was locked properly. But again, the honest brothers took the
money.
The man was very discouraged and had many questions in his heart.
Can we dare giving the question paper in the Bible College and leave trusting
the students to be honest and not cheat as they write the answer? Can we leave
some unaccounted money on a table in a pastor's seminar and go home for the
night?
Well, only if we preach the whole gospel! To do this, the shepherd must be a
holy person. The Bible says 'Deep calls unto deep.' (Ps 42:7) It means only
a person who has a deeper life can challenge the believers to live a life according
to the Bible. Otherwise the shepherds will be forced to send the believers home
with a pat on the back and say 'every thing is fine. You are on your way to
heaven.' But the fact could be that they are actually on their way to hell.
There was a pastors' confere- nce held in Australia, which was conducted in
a hotel. The whole hotel was totally booked by the organizers. At the end of
the conference, the hotel manage- ment commented that they sold more beer and
adult movies during those five days.
But let me come back to the subject. We must take care of the elderly in our
home. Our parents must not be considered as a burden but a blessing. They may
have money or not. Yet as believers, we must take care of them. The shepherds
must preach this message whether church members find it favourable or not. It
must be preached in conventions.
Let me ask a question? Are you taking care of the elderly in your family? Your
mother, father, grand father/grandmother, mother/father-in-law? If not, you
are sinning against God. You are inviting God's curse on you and your generations.
Wake up believers - and obey the Word of God.
Respect - honour - take care of your father and mother. If you have not written
a letter to them, call them, send them monthly allowance - do it from today.
Your faith must be visible in the way you live. Let us live the Bible.
Jesus said 7 wonderful statements from the Cross. One of them was, "Behold,
thy mother." From the Cross, which was swaying in the strong wind, Jesus
looked at the small crowd gathered before Him. He wanted to hand over the responsibility
of caring for his mother to someone who was young and faithful. He knew very
well that no one could do a better job than John.
In the same manner we must take care of our mothers and fathers with the utmost
respect and responsibility.
Will
you do it? Answer to the resurrected Jesus.
