“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:5-6)
A private, non boastful faith seems to be what Jesus prefers. Often, it is the quiet people of faith that have influenced me the most - rather than the boisterous preachers.
In my day to day life, whenever I sense a sales pitch, I tend to immediately lose interest. Also, if I don't feel that my opinion is being listened to, I tend to "plead the fifth" and stay silent. I'm generally not comfortable with any sort of pressure to adhere to dogma, and I tend to think that conformity is often inspired by fear rather than the intellectual process.
If we really want to know what someone believes, I think we should first become their friend. Trading agendas for honesty and respect can help tear down walls and build vulnerability. Then, we can get past any external images that are created to appease some sort of pressure. Chances are, we can best discover each others true beliefs as we lay aside any aggressive agendas.
I feel that the deepest questions of life are best handled with a sense of respect and reverence. Rather than applying pressure to conform, we should encourage truth-seeking and question asking. As Jesus said, “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you" (Matthew 7:6).
Does pressure turn you off?
No comments:
Post a Comment