The Practical Side of the Christian Faith

 

Academics tend to fall into the trap of critiquing situations based on theory and presumed underlying presumptions. While I am not one to argue for “the ends justify the means”, there is a certain level of practicality to the fruit of one’s actions. With the recent Russian military action in Ukraine, a large number of voices have risen criticizing President Putin’s use of the Orthodox faith to promote his own agenda. But the question that comes to my mind is that of fruit. Does it really matter the reason for Putin’s “use” of Orthodoxy? If he is actively promoting the Orthodox faith and has continued to portray it as the faith of the Russian people, how is that a bad thing?

The same can be said of Constantine. Regardless of motives, Constantine did make Christianity the official religion of his empire. In doing so, he moved it out of the shadows and into a position of authority and recognition. Regardless of the errant ways that the faith is seen or used, the church will always be extant. Christianity will never die out or cease to be the faith once delivered. Whether Christianity is seen as an illegal aberration or is the official faith of an entire nation, what it teaches is true.

It does not matter what Putin’s motives are for promoting the Orthodox faith. The fact is, Orthodoxy is the historic Christian faith and will continue to grow regardless of what man says or does. The Orthodox church passed through terrible suffering during the time of Soviet Russia, but it was never destroyed. When communism fell, the church was still there and came back to its rightful place as the faith of the nation. 

It is a good thing that the Orthodox faith is the foundation and heart of the nation of Russia (and others). Whether Putin’s motives are good, or evil is irrelevant. The church will continue to flourish, and it is our responsibility to love God and love our neighbor.

Self-Control

 

There is a lot of talk about pleasure and the passions in the world of Christendom, usually when it comes to the subject of sex. Everyone is very quick to condemn sexual pleasure but what about culinary pleasure? Why do we see so many overweight Christians and no one seems to say anything about it?

The condemnation of sexual pleasure is a given. There seems to be no question about it. The topic is touched upon in sermons, but one never hears about eating too much. Yes, the church promotes fasting but fasting as a temporary act of self-control of certain food types. It usually happens that all self-control is foregone once the fast is over, thus the issue of being overweight.

It can be easy to see the sin of gluttony and a lack of self-control when it comes to food, but it is not necessarily easy to see a lack of self-control when it comes to sexual pleasure. It is especially odd as girls and women are encouraged to be attractive. Head coverings in church? Yes, this is very common in the Orthodox world but what good is a head covering when one is wearing a short skirt, low-cut top, tight clothing and coated in makeup?

As with everything, it is about balance and moderation. When it comes to appearance, one should strive to not draw attention to oneself. The middle ground will allow one to blend in and not draw attention. There is no need to wear a burlap sack or a burka. There is nothing wrong with these, but these can be problematic on the opposite end of the scale.

The Bible gives no direction on how to dress but it does talk about moderation in all things and about loving one’s neighbor. If one’s appearance is leading others to sin or is causing pride in oneself, then it is a problem.

Foundationally, this is all about self-control in all aspects of life. As someone once said, “there are some sins that are acceptable and others that are not.”  It should not be this way.

Loving Others

 

It is easy to become distracted by the narrow vision of our own experience. We see and have a sliver of understanding of our own discomfort and suffering yet our view of the whole of known history is nearly null. There are currently about eight billion people on the planet. There may have been more in the distant past. Prior to the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, we know nearly nothing of man’s existence.

Contrasting our own narrow view with that of the multiple billions of people that have ever lived, we should respond with a change in our thoughts and behavior. One could feel completely insignificant and worthless but that would be a mistake. Every person that ever lived or ever will live is a genuine, valuable and distinct person. They are someone who wants and needs to be loved and we have the responsibility as fellow human beings to love everyone with whom we come into contact.

If our words and actions can make life better for someone, even if in some small way, we should. At the same time, we need to recognize that there are many different types of people out there. Some come across as unfriendly and unhappy. We don’t know anyone’s whole life story and should never assume the worst of someone simply because they seem disagreeable.

Loving someone else means giving them what they need if we can and helping them toward holiness. Because man was created in the likeness and image of God, he is naturally built for holiness. All should fight against the tendency to sin because sin is an unnatural response to life.

In short, people need to be loved. To love someone doesn’t mean doing for them what we like but doing what they need. If nothing else, we can at least pray for them and respond with kindness. We don’t have to be everyone’s friend but we can be no one’s enemy.