Ethon Lowe | How to be a GOOD Christian

Jamaicans never tire of reminding us that they are Christians, and with the high rates of homicides, corruption, teenage pregnancies and abortions, we would tend to agree. But they say the perpetrators of the aforementioned crimes and misdemeanours are bad Christians. Who is a good Christian? Someone who lives a good life? But non-Christians and people of other religions also live good lives. More Christian-like would be if people loved their neighbours, but in Jamaica, there seems little inclination to do so. No, a Christian is not all that mundane stuff, say our Christian brothers and sisters. Just believe in God (Yahweh). Forget all the other thousands of gods – Zeus, Thor, Mithra, Isis, Elvis. Believers are happy to go this one god more. He is omnipotent, omniscient and loving. Eleven-year-olds thank Him for their success in the GSAT. The victorious athlete attributes her win to Him, no matter that the other competitors also prayed to Him to win, which make us wonder if God is not immune to a bit of favouritism. Politicians seek His intervention for their lame-duck performance. I suspect some of them are prayed for, but not as favourably as we would like to think. But, there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. If you sin, you pay. Hell fire awaits you. There shall be weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth, flames, torment and eternal punishment. But ... God loves you. Remember, He is a loving God.

Loving you say. Didn’t He create the world especially for man and woman (lucky us). Women are still suffering the pain of childbirth for Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, but that is to teach them to be resilient. He made the world just right. Remember the childhood jingle ‘All things bright and beautiful, the Lord God made them all.’ Take, for instance, rabbits have white tails in order to be easy to shoot them. And as the French philosopher Voltaire wisely observed, the human nose was specially designed to fit spectacles, so we could read our favourite novels. But you would think that if you had omnipotence and omniscience, and billions of years to perfect the world, you could improve on pandemics, earthquakes, Hitler and Stalin. Giving us eternal life may not be a bad thing, but when I contemplate what people do with their lives, and render other people’s lives miserable, I think it is almost a consolation to have a short and hopefully productive life.

His son is regarded as the best and wisest of men. You will remember Christ said, “Whoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other”. I have no doubt that our prime minister is a most sincere Christian, but I should not advise any of you to go and smite him on one cheek. Another maxim, “Go and sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor”. No doubt a very excellent maxim although not much practised among our Christian friends.

Then there is the instance of the Gadarene swines. It was not very kind to the pigs to put the devils into them, and made them run down the hill to the sea. Being omnipotent, He could have made the devils simply go away. There is also the curious story of the fig tree. One wonders if He was suffering mental and physical exhaustion after the Sermon on the Mount and all those miracles. He was hungry and on approaching the fig tree, found leaves but no figs. Angry, He cursed the fig tree and it withered away. You couldn’t really blame the fig tree, as it was not the right time of the year for figs.

Granted the excellence of His maxims and wise sayings, He did predict His second coming would occur in clouds of glory before the death of all the people living at that time, “There are some standing here which shall not taste death till the son of man comes into His kingdom”. I know a pastor who frightened his congregation terribly by telling them that the second coming was very imminent indeed, but they were much consoled when they found that he was planting trees in his garden. Clergymen are acknowledged to be the wisest of all men. Alas, there are times when their wisdom has not been very obvious. Following this reprieve, assorted sinners, those giving bun (a Jamaican proclivity, not to be confused with the bun of Easter variety), adulterers, women beaters and the like would certainly breathe a sigh of relief. No need to repent just yet.

It would be nice to have a kind of big brother who would stand by you and solve your problems, that religion is true, God exists and ought to be believed. An honest appraisal, but I am more disappointed with those who say religion ought to be believed, because its useful, and to ask whether it is true is a waste of time. Nonetheless, rather than having an imaginary ally in the sky, with no evidence of his existence to guide your life, why not look to your own efforts to make your life better.

Dr Ethon Lowe is a medical doctor. You may contact him at: 876-402-8234;. ethonlowe@gmail.com