Are you a person? Or … Are you a member of a group?

Are you “you” or one of them?

This is not just a question about your philosophy of life, it’s a question about why we fight so many wars, in our world.

I am writing as a Christian, and I am in this place because I made a decision, a personal decision. I was born and raised in a religious family, but I decided who and what I would be. I haven’t wandered far from my family beliefs, but what I believe belongs to me, personally.

Also, I’m old enough to have children, and now, even some grandchildren. I am sure about what I want for them, including in their spiritual lives, but they have to make their own final decision. They each belong to themselves.

That is not how life works in many parts of the world. Most people are born into a group, and that community wants to keep its members. This “group” might include the language that you speak, your political convictions, and … your religion.

The way you relate to God or gods, and to other spiritual things, is given to you. Babies are new members of old communities, and members are expected to defend their old community. When Christian missionaries went to other countries in the world, they learned about the boundaries. 

Personal religious choice is often not permitted.

Did you know, in many groups, dropping out and even worse, converting to something else, can result in a death sentence? People can be killed if they change their religion. In other places, they might be put in prison, or they might be tolerated, but treated like social outcasts.

The attached video is not about persecution. It is about life in an Asian country where tolerance is common; but we can see how traditions can own a country and most of the people who live there. The Christians, in this story, are apparently not mistreated, but they are a tiny minority, surrounded by millions of people who follow traditions:

You may know, that when the British Empire gave independence to India, the religious communities were divided. Muslims were concentrated in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and Hindus were concentrated in India. Also, large Buddhist communities were concentrated in neighboring places like Myanmar, Burma and Sri Lanka.

Now, some people are worried that two powerful neighbors, with nuclear weapons, might go to war someday. Those neighbors are India and Pakistan.

That is a picture of the power of community religion. We could include in this count, the war with Iran (the great power of Shia Islam), and many conflicts around the state of Israel (Jewish). That is only the beginning of the list.

We live in a world divided into communities of belief, and who we are, or who we want to be, might not be important. Even worse, who we are might get us persecuted, and possibly even killed.

Do you know the story of a man named Jesus? He told people to find the truth about their own spiritual lives, and remember, the leaders in his local religious community arranged to have him executed on a cross.

Community religion is a powerful force, in our world, and we might not notice that in western cultures. In many parts of the world, we are not always free to make our own, personal decisions.

It is easy to miss the point that the Bible points the way forward, to each one of us.; ‘each one.’

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived … such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6: 9 and 11)

In that same Bible Jesus told us:

If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you do not belong to the world, but I chose you out of the world … (John 15: 19 and 20)

So, who are we? 

Also, in the ‘we’ community, who are you? And who am I? This is a bigger question than most of us know, and the answer is not as simple as we might think. 

Jesus was clearly on the side of ‘each of us’ and not ‘all of them.’

This is a lesson we should all learn.

READ (Directed at Teens): How Can I Become a Christian