The Righteousness Culture

The Righteousness Culture

Culture evolves. Except we deliberately decide to keep it, it's change is inevitable. The problem is that culture, just as any other issue in nature must be cultured, because if left to go its own path, it won't always bring what's ultimately beneficial to the people within it.

The morality and the practices of a people group can't be left to the morality of the individual. The corporate morality of a group of people must be determined by those values and the aspirations of the people according to their potentials and their possibilities. This is a job for altruistic visionary leadership. Of course, we use the constitution and other moral codes to steer the direction of culture, leadership must isolate core values from the available moral codes to form what should become culture and practices of the people to create uniqueness and corporate identity for the people otherwise, the people would be known more for evil than for good.

Religious beliefs and practices provided for ancient communities, moral codes from which values and conducts within them are formed. Lots of modern advanced communities developed their corporate and societal moralities from those religious codes even when religion has become less popular. You can not exorcise the influence of the love of Christ from the present practices in communities with Christian foundations. The freedom of grace and care for the poor, the weak, the visitor, the sick, the disadvantaged and the less privileged by corporate governance sit well with the core doctrines of grace brought by Christ, things we easily see in these communities these days. 

When Jesus Christ said the poor you will always have with you, it was a responsibility He was transferring to us and not an information to maintain the status of the poor or to justify poverty in society. 

Judas, who would eventually sell Him to the enemies couldn't fathom the spiritual importance of a woman pouring an expensive oil on the feet of Jesus Christ, to him, it was a waste. His perspective actually made sense, except that it was a symbolic act pointing to the burial of Jesus Christ who would soon be crucified. Judas had raised the issue of the poor being more in need of such largesse. Jesus then told him, you will always have the poor to take care of, but His own time was about to end and such act was necessary. 

By that, He left a command that the poor should always be taken care of, which was what formed His ministry budgetary and financial policy back then. 

The disciples preached and practiced that alongside the preaching of the gospel. And as the gospel spread into nations, people embraced not just the beliefs but also the practices. With time, it formed the culture of nations, even where Christianity, as a religion wanes, the character of Christ remains malignant in corporate policies, eroding barbarism and establishing love and care in taking care of and protecting the weak, the sick, the visitor, the jailed, the less privileged even animals, as culture.

It has defined modernity, civilisation and enlightenment in many societies. Helped people break barriers of gender, social and economic classes and set nations on the path of greatness as corporate moralities affected the values and the culture of work, relationships and leadership.

Of course, many have used religion, even Christianity to do evil but such evils would never be traced to the person of Christ or to His teachings, no matter how hard some religious or irreligious people try. 

Christ's love, the freedom He gave to people around Him and His stance against violence, governmental and religious leadership insincerity and hypocrisy are well documented and can be seen. That's a major reason why certain detractors would rather claim He never existed.

His teachings about doing good, going the extra mile, abolishing an eye for an eye, loving the enemy, not giving evil for evil, visiting the sick, giving to the poor, visiting the criminal in prison, clothing the naked and association with the poor, peasants and weak yet not abandoning those who are better off are hallmarks of His lifestyle and teachings.

So, to identify with Christ and not just with mere religion purportedly derived from Him, we cannot leave doing good to pursue some esoteric righteousness that does no one no good beyond public disturbance. A follower of Christ would seek to do what He says and what He did. A follower of Christ is redeemed from wickedness and set in motion to zealously practice good as derived from the love nature of God. A follower of Christ would live in His core teaching of Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7, otherwise, it's mere religiosity.

Now, in a community where there are lots of people who believe in Christ from this perspective, we expect to see Christ likeness become culture. Going to church and bearing Bible names won't be enough, except for mere hypocrisy. Going about with big church titles won't be enough. Christ and His light must be clearly seen in the practices of those who claim to follow Christ. 

Of course, we know many are followers of churches and church leaders and not followers of Christ, but we should rather follow Christ otherwise our religion is nonsense, irrelevant and disturbing! Where following Christ becomes an avenue for exploitation and for multiplicity of darkness, sickness, poverty and death, then it is not following Christ, we had no so learned Christ.

Crowds in church isn't a sign of revival until those crowds start occupying for Christ by showing the life, the light and the love of Christ in their communities and societies. It is more than gathering to sing and to dance and to share high sounding sermons heavily laden with superstitions but lacking Christ, His thoughts and His works. Our society can never enjoy development when those who claim to know Christ won't show forth His love and light in every space they occupy.

It takes a deliberate decision to follow Christ, it will cost you. It is the cross, it is self denial, it is laying down all, it is sacrificial, it is self immolation. When we clamour for this, our society becomes better, we become humane, less barbaric, less calloused and insensitive to the weak, the sick and the poor. That's when we become godly and Christ like. Not just when we go to church or sleep there.

 James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Have a great week! 

Matthew 26:6-13

Matthew 25:33-40

Matthew 5:43-48

John 13:29

Galatians 2:9&10

Proverbs 12:10

Luke 9:51-56

Matthew 5:38-42

Matthew 26:52

Titus 2:13&14

Ephesians 4:20

Matthew 16:24