So, what do you believe?

I am sure we should all ask ourselves that question. Wherever you live, there is a common belief system, for you and your neighbors and friends. One very important question is; What do I believe? And the twin to that question is; Why do I believe?

It is easy to be polite and to conform enough so that we don’t create arguments and fights. Some families are split because of different beliefs.

Many years ago, we lived in a small place and participated in a local Christian church.  Some of us, who were good friends, knew another family who didn’t go to our church. We were all good friends, and the others decided to join us on Sundays. There was no pressure, but they liked being with us, their friends.

After a few weeks, they stopped coming to the same church as us, but they were still good friends. I was surprised and I wondered if they had a problem in the family or marriage that they were working on privately.

When I asked why they didn’t join us anymore, they were very clear; Our church was a religious cult!

If I told you the names of the religious denominations, you would know that they were probably wrong. The family belonged to another group, or denomination, and we were a ‘religious cult’ because we didn’t belong to their group. We didn’t believe the wrong things, we just didn’t belong to their community, and we could take away some of their members.

We had a conflict between believing and belonging. It is very easy to confuse these two: What do I believe? … Where do I belong?

Religions everywhere are worried about losing members, and sometimes it is possible to be a shallow believer, but to still belong. In many communities, a regular member is often more important than a sincere believer.

This can come close to home. When my mother was alive, I generally respected her, and defended her when other people criticized her.

Mom was very religious, and she was never shy about arguing with people with other ideas. I was used to my mom, and I don’t want to disrespect her now.

One day, I found an invitation to a small group that was trying to start a new church in our city. I went to a few of their house meetings, and I really liked them. I still think that they believed the same things that I believe, as a Christian. They were just a different denomination.

One day, they phoned me, to invite me to something, and my mother took the call. I am old enough to remember those days, before cell phones, when we answered the home phone and took messages for other people.

My mother told me later, about her message. When she heard my friends inviting me to something that was not in our family church, she told them “No one in this family belongs to a church like yours.”

That was the last time that I heard from my new friends, and that was a painful experience for me. Mom and I never talked about her answer to my friends, and we tried to keep a good relationship.

Many years later, when she was quite old, and retired, she spoke to me quietly. She said “I want to apologize to you.” I didn’t understand, so she explained that she was sorry about how she spoke to my friends.

It is good to make peace, in a family.

So, belong and believe, there is a difference.

For example, there is a news story from India about an army officer who was fired from his job, after several years of service. There was no court martial, he was just dismissed. The problem was what he believed, and how that affected where he belonged.

The rules were clear for this officer, his unit had to participate in religious ceremonies. In India, that would usually mean Hindu ceremonies, in a temple, but this officer commanded a unit of Sikhs. You probably know, those are the people, mostly from the Punjab, in India, where the men usually wear turbans. 

The former officer is a Christian, and he would attend the ceremonies of the Sikh Religion with his troops, but he limited his participation. He didn’t want to pretend that he belonged to that religion, and he didn’t want to offend the members of that group, in their private ceremonies. It seems that he was diplomatic, but his commanding officer was offended, and he was dismissed; fired without compensation. 

• READ: Why the Dismissal of an Indian Army Officer Over Religious Participation Raises Serious Questions 

The news article was written by a professor of law, who is also a Christian. His arguments seem good, and convincing, but a High Court has ruled that the Army was right to fire the officer. He had to belong more than to believe. Hopefully, the former Army officer will find a useful career and a good paycheck, outside of the army, but the difference between believe and belong is stark.

This not a new problem. When the first Christians preached and converted, they generally did good work, but their beliefs threatened the people who belonged to other groups. Sometimes the issue was money and the number of members, and not the ideas that were preached: 

One story is found in the Book of Acts, and chapter 19:

A man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people.” (verses 24 to 26)

For about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”  (verse 34)

It is critically important to know ourselves, in our confusing times. “What do I believe?” can answer the other question “Where do I belong?” and those questions can give us the answer to this question “Who am I, really?”

I am writing as a Christian, and I hope you already know, or you will soon know the answer to the important question; “Who am I in this world?” That identifies our spiritual life.