Certainty – Be Careful!
When asked the question he did not hesitate to answer. His answer was quick and precise. “Do you believe that gay people are going to hell”? His answer was “most certainly”. When asked if a non-believer, who just passed, was hell bound he answered with the same conviction. Please heed this warning! Certainty, not doubt, is the opposite of faith. When we judge with certainty. When we believe we have all the answers do we not look upon ourselves as God? Certainty reveals a need for control, not love and understanding. We could all agree that much violence in human history, even today, is religious based. It’s the conclusion of two different world and religious views. Our egos believe our view or interpretation to be right, and that makes us superior. That superiority leads us to justifications of judgement and scapegoating of others. In light of our egotistic ways punishment of those we perceive as inferior becomes a moral mandate. If we are the loved ones and the “best” then the others have to be punished or eliminated. These are the obstacles to love that must be stamped out, if we are ever going to shine the light of Jesus to the world around us. Maybe our purpose on earth isn’t to be the thought police first and then love others after all their ideas line up as they should. Maybe my first order of business is to risk my own certainty about God and love others where and how they are… no matter how they do on my theology exam. I Love You! – Perry