Holiness in Unity 1065
By Michael Paul
Holiness in Unity
By Michael Paul
As a child I had a severe phobia when it came to needles. Under
Sadam’s dictatorship control, Iraq was a collective society, where
every aspect of life was controlled by the government. There was a
strict protocol when it came to vaccination requirements, compelling
all children to be immunized at regularly scheduled vaccine clinics in
their schools. During my third grade year, I remember dreading one of
these such scheduled clinics. I begged my mom to allow me to stay
home, but she assured me that would only delay the inevitable, that
the health officials would follow up and track me down to assure my
compliance. She also told me something I will never forget. She said
that the vaccine protocol is designed to protect the individual from
contracting highly contagious viruses, but an immunized individual
also protects others. Because the culture I was raised in, teaches
each individual has an obligation to the rest of society, I learned
that I must build myself up for the benefit of others.
This was only a cultural attitude, however, not an Islamic
principle because the Qur’an devotes a large portion of its text
promoting hatred and disdain for others. The writings encourage
deception and murder when encountering unbelievers and apostates.
Islamists are taught from an early age that they are the only segment
of society with any value, that Jews and Christians are on the same
level as pigs. In fact, they are commanded to refrain from touching
unbelievers because they are unclean and if a Muslim is practicing
Islam, even today, they will quickly go and wash if they are forced to
touch an “infidel.” They are taught an entitlement mentality, that
they have the right to take advantage of unbelievers’ generosity and
ignorance of Islam, to collect as many spoils as possible from those
who don’t deserve their possessions. They are on a mission: to
Islamize the entire world by any means necessary, by allocating
millions of dollars toward the cause, using deceit, ignorance of
disbelievers and domination by the sword.
I was having a conversation with one such Islamist the other day
and learned he has ties to the Islamic Militia. He is here in America
as a “refugee,” and is taking advantage of all the blessings available
to him as a refugee in this country. However, he began disrespecting
our country, the government and the citizens who have given him
shelter here. He has no respect for this land God provided for him as
a means of escape from his former nation. It disturbs me that there
are people taking the best from this country, dining daily at its
buffet of liberty, freedom and peace, while cursing it out of the
other side if their mouths. There is no principle of respect taught in
the Qur’an and no loyalty other than that demanded by Allah.
Compare the teachings of Islam to those of Jesus. He spent his
entire ministry on earth modeling a peaceful, loving attitude toward
everyone. His goal was to show Christians how to live with a focus on
His Kingdom, not according to the desires of this world. He taught us
to be others focused, to live sacrificially and humbly. He broke every
mold of the “perfect” life because He lived not according to man’s
ideas and laws, but under the law of love. He accepted water from a
Samaritan woman’s jar and made her His very first missionary, sending
her out to tell her people. His actions were shocking because she was
a woman, but also because the Samaritans were viewed as dirty.
Jesus taught us to be Thankful, that every good thing in our life
is given by God, the creator. That we are owed nothing in this life,
but that He chose to love us before we existed, to bless us and
sacrifice for us. He only wants us to choose Him in return, and live
our lives according to His principles. In this way, I sometimes say
that Jesus was a “socialist,” not as we think of socialism today, but
in a perfect way for society to function. He shows us how our society
can not be built as one of unity, until we first become whole within.
He does a mighty work in us, that we individually unite with Him, then
live in oneness with the rest of His body. Unified with His goal in
mind, we tend to sacrifice our own needs in order to do His will for
others.
If this this principle were lived out, there would be no hate,
no poverty and no reason to sacrifice ourselves because we would be
living “all as one.” This is a very successful way to function as a
society. However, loyalty is imperative. Loyalty is not a piece of
paper. Citizenship should mean loyalty, a pride in the land God has
provided for your existence. When I think about unity, I always think
of the Spartan society in Ancient Greece. When faced with seemingly
insurmountable odds against a much larger military, they joined
together with shields raised overhead. They did this in an attempt to
portray themselves as a much larger threat, a formidable foe, and this
tactic worked. The enemy could not see the individuals, but just a
huge mass, reflecting the sun like a giant eye. They thought they were
dealing with some sort of monster! There is great power in loyalty and
unity.
This is the message I wish to leave with Christians. The
character of Christ is one that has been modeled in my culture for
thousands of years. Iraq was one of the original Christian nations. It
is only recently the teachings of Islam have invaded my nation like a
cancer, the way it is now so invasive in this great country. The
Muslim people are a mission field ripe for harvest. They already have
a deeply ingrained sense of a life lived according to God’s
principles. They are simply deceived into submission to a false god.
Matthew 9:37-38 ... “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So
pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more
workers into his fields.” To Contact Michael Paul, look for the
advertisement for his barber shop, JC Style, in this issue.
|