Harold Camping, the longtime owner of Christian Family Life Radio, announced several months ago that the world was going to end on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  Mr. Camping based his announcement on some very interesting mathematical formulas he believed were found in the Bible.  Like most false prophets speaking doom upon the world, he will naturally re-calculate and set another date for a gullible group to follow.  How sad! 

 It is sad because another claimed follower of Christ has confused the average man or woman in thinking that Christianity is only for the losers of life, the mean-spirited, the unintelligent, the power hungry, the rumor monger, and the psychologically challenged.  I know many who intentionally distance themselves from the Christian camp solely because they have experienced leaders (both lay and clergy) within churches who have:

• Lied, slandered, and destroyed people all in the name of God
• Pronounced ego-driven and pride-obsessed statements and lifestyles, justified in the name of God
• Been small-minded, hate-driven, and power-infatuated, all justified in the name of God

These folks use the Bible or their clerical collars as a concealed weapon, misusing Scripture, ignoring Tradition, and mocking Reason, to justify their “ungodly” views and misrepresent Jesus.  It is sad because they think they are not evil, but unfortunately, they are as they destroy lives with slandering shadows under the guise of a self-righteous niceness.

So what can we do about it?  In one sense, nothing!  These folks have existed since the beginning of time, and they will pass their demonic poison to future generations.  We are powerless to change them, but they all will be accountable for their thoughts, words, and actions to the King of kings someday in the future. 

However, there are some things we can do about it!  Let me suggest two ways to walk in THE WAY of Jesus:

One: Learn to love like Jesus.  Read chapters thirteen to seventeen in the Gospel of John to see that love is the ONLY defining mark for the world to see Christ in us.  Take a coffee break and open up a postcard of a message by the Apostle in I John and see the importance of love in action.  Turn to Micah 6:8 and see the importance of kindness, mercy, and humility.  Love is intentionally seeking the greater good of another.  Read I Corinthians 13 and see how love is expressed. 

Two: Live to the Applause of One.  Being a social creature created by God, I have a natural tendency to want people to like me.  But because of their wound-infected sins, people misunderstand my heartfelt intentions, my purity of motives, and my actions.  And because of my sins, I often misunderstand the intention, internal motives, and their outward actions.  And when misunderstanding happens, hurt begets more hurt.  Even if I seek everyone’s applause, it will not happen.  Never did, never will.  We know this truth in sports, and we know it in life. So stop seeking the applause of the many and start seeking the applause of one. Reflect on Matthew 6:33, or better yet, memorize Matthew 22:37-38.  It will change the way you live!

I understand that some of the websites that have proclaimed the end of the world are now selling T-shirts that say, “I have survived the end of the world!”  If Jesus did not know while He was on earth, no one else has a clue to the end of the world!  It probably won’t happen in our lifetime . . . but then again, the Chicago Cubs could win the World Series!  If that happens, all bets are off!

With love and peace,

Fr. Tony

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