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Saturday, January 06, 2007

Chp 100. The Christian Life

Ever torn between a passion and a career?

A passion is something that you love to do out of your own volition, whereas a career is usually something that you force yourself to do, something that you usually don’t enjoy doing.

And that is what makes us love or hate a job / task that we are entrusted to do. One of the reasons why I didn’t want to take up writing as a professional career and join some illustrious school of Journalism was because, to me, writing is an avocation, and I was afraid I might lose my passion for writing if it suddenly becomes a deadline-requiring lifeline.

Ever noticed how time seems to drag by so slowwwwly when you’re doing something that you don’t enjoy? Sitting in a boring economics class, studying for an upcoming examination, shopping with your mother, waiting for the love of your life to call you up or to arrive at the airport, watching kasauti, listening to your nosy neighbor upstairs rambling to you about why the price of wheat or oil has gone up, working at a job you detest etc, while time just flies by when you’re doing something that you truly enjoy.

A good friend of mine once asked me, “I try to be a good Christian, resisting all the temptations around me every single day, but at the end of the day, I usually ask myself, is it worth it? Because I don’t think I can control myself any longer…”

Well, suppose you join a large Company and you don’t enjoy working there, what would be the most reasonable thing to do? If you can afford to shift, then you look for a new job immediately, otherwise you continue working in that same company, trying your best to love your work that you hate.

It is only after you start working with alacrity and enthusiasm that you will start loving what you do, making you more productive and indispensable to the Company. You don’t even need an HR Professional to tell you that.

Similarly, if you coerce yourself to be an ascetic, trying to lead a good Christian life by force, it will indeed be an arduous task: You will feel as if the mere effort of trying not to sin has drained the very last bit of sanity within you. But if the urge to lead the life of a good Christian genuinely comes from within, it is way much easier to resist any temptations that may come your way. Sometimes it is possible to rediscover such urges at a Spiritual Rehab camp.

Many critics of Spiritual Rehab Camps say that the entire process is very artificial and that being “born again” should come from within and not from any external camp experience. Reminds me of the story about the man who drowned at sea. As he was drowning, he cried to the good Lord to save him. Soon a boat came by but the man refused to accept their offer for help because he said God will save him. Two other boats came by and he didn’t acknowledge them either. Finally he drowned. When he met God later, he asked Him why He didn’t save him from drowning, and God calmly replied, “I sent three boats, didn’t I?”

That’s what Spiritual Rehab Camps are about. We are all drowning slowly each and every passing day, and God has sent the numerous counselors and pastors and missionaries to save us from drowning. Most of us cannot save ourselves from drowning; we need external help. Help from other people- people who work as God’s tools and who are qualified to save us from drowning.

Hence, Spiritual Rehab Camps do give you new power and energy to enjoy being a good Christian, and there is nothing artificial about it. And the moment you enjoy that life you lead, all thoughts and skepticism about how tough it is to lead such a life will automatically vanish. You will bask in the joy and glory of leading such a life the moment you wake up every morning.

Spiritual Rehabilitation (Camping) is just like any other rehabilitation. Some of you may argue that it is not so, since other rehabs like alcohol and drugs Rehab deal with addiction and is hence different. Well let me tell you this: Spiritual Rehab does indeed deal with addiction. We, as an individual, are all addicted to a materialistic world governed by immoral activities and sinful lifestyles. And that addiction can be cured at a Spiritual Rehab Camp.

Don’t force yourself to love God. Jesus never forced Himself to die for our sins; He did it willingly because he loved us. Love God volitionally and love the Life that you lead through God, and everything will be a cakewalk after that.

Wishes and Prayers…