What do we do with David Cameron

Sad Sunday Morning

Sundays have always been exciting for me. From my years as a teenage musician in a local church, to the years I had the rare privilege to occupy the hard, mind-numbing, challenging but exciting role of a pastor, going to church on a Sunday morning has always been special. The church, for me, is a place of refuge from the scorching heat and turbulence of our wicked world. From Monday to Saturday, the week may have been tough and I may have had some bad experiences that probably got me discouraged, stressed or even close to giving up, but when I wake up on Sunday morning, nothing that happened to me the past week was important anymore.  Once the day breaks on any Sunday, hope comes alive; my face glows, joy floods my soul and every weakness in me disappears, all because I am going to the house of the Lord to worship the King. Not ill health, bad weather, riots on the streets or threats to my life stopped me from going to church; come rain, shine, hail, snow or brimstone, if I am alive, I am going to church on Sunday morning. Indeed “I was glad when they said let us go to the house of the Lord”.

But as I write this, it is Sunday morning and I cannot go to church as usual. I woke up, looked at the clock and rushed to the bathroom because I was late for service. While I was dressing up I looked out the window and realized that I was in a different country, a place where everybody who chooses to worship “openly” must worship on a Friday. It is the culture/law of the land that everyone who wants to worship must do so on Fridays. My countenance and “joy level” dropped and with sadness I chose to turn on the television to see if I can, at least, see/hear something edifying. It took me a couple of minutes to find a channel that broadcasted English and when I found one, what did I see? No it is not good news. It is not songs of worship and celebration. No I didn't hear anyone celebrating my King. What I heard in the news was a protest. I heard some disgruntled fellows protesting a statement made by the British Prime Minister.

State of confusion

David Cameron called Britain a Christian country and some atheists, humanists, secularists, and some confused Christians, teamed up to blast the Prime minister.  Their argument is that Britain is a plural society and the Prime Minister’s assertion has negative consequences for their politics and society. They vehemently rejected any attempt to tag Britain “Christian Country”.  The news worsened my day.

Here I am, in a country whose government tagged “Islamic”, a land whose legal system is “Sharia” and all the people who live here must abide by that; I cannot worship openly, I cannot worship on Sunday, I may not be able to say I am a Christian, yet some people have such privilege in their country and do not appreciate it. Here, it doesn't matter what your religion/belief is, you are in a Muslim country and you are expected to live your life according to the principles of their religion. They are proud of their religion. Even though they claim to accommodate other cultures and religions, they will not as much as give you freedom to worship when you want, not to think of allowing you pray to any other god publicly. I mean, even my Chinese friends cannot get their famous fortune Cookie after eating in a Chinese restaurant. Why? Because there is only one national religion here and allowing you have your cultural food here is big enough. In this land, they will not tolerate any attempt to contaminate their religion with any strange practice; they are an Islamic country, they practice it openly and they are proud of it. Their religion is their culture and it reflects in every aspect of their lives including their politics. As a matter of fact, in this region, if you want to participate in government, you must have a strong inclination to their religion. Their religion and State are one and same.

The people in this region exalt their religion even beyond their business. They take breaks from their business/work to pray and nothing stops them from doing this daily. They have prayer rooms in their offices, malls, airports and other public places. Good for them, right!?

In contrast, many Western countries are beginning to deny or reject their religious heritage. They claim that modern day society is secular and not religious; they believe that State and religion are two separate things and should be separate. In some Western countries, people are clamoring for the removal of anything related to God, Jesus or religion in public places. Some have taken prayers out from their schools, and many do not bother to worship on Sundays because they have come to accept the new ideology. People mock those who still have time to pray over their food and some school teachers go the extra mile to make sure children do not make a public declaration of their faith. I have not seen a Christian prayer room in any Airport in UK, US, or any Western country. There may be, but I have not seen. So, is Christianity becoming weaker and less influential? Some say it is called pluralism, but I doubt that pluralism is a call to deny or downplay one’s faith.

Pluralism or Identity crisis?

Simply stated, a plural society is one in which people of diverse belief and cultural orientations coexist.  It does not mean lack of religious inclination. It does not mean rejecting or denying your cultural or religious identity. In a plural society there are people from various cultures, religions, beliefs and practices; they are all expected to live together in peace while each practices their convictions freely. In such heterogeneous society, freedom is the name of the game. Everyone is allowed to express themselves. I do not believe however, that a heterogeneous society means not to identify with a religion. There may be several cultures and religions in such society, but there has to be a “host religion” so to say. The leader and indigenes of the land are expected to highlight and promote their faith. But sadly, in most Western society, that is not the case. Pluralism, in my humble opinion, should not mean that we are afraid to identify with our home religion. It can only mean that we tolerate other religions/cultures but do not fail to identify with and celebrate, by all means, our honorable faith. Promoting and celebrating one’s faith is probably the cure to identity crises.   

WANTED-Defenders of the Faith

If you are a Christian politician, manager, supervisor, etc. and cannot take a stand and declare your faith, then you have failed not only the people whom you represent, but also God. In case you do not know, there is a purpose for every promotion and I can confidently tell you that you are lifted to bring honor and praise to the name of the Lord. This is not to say you should confuse work with religion, it simply means that you should do your work in such a way that Christ is exalted. Have you ever used your break time to worship or pray? No! Your belly is your God so that’s what you “worship” during your break.

You are either for us or against us. If you are for us, then you will represent and defend our faith no matter where you find yourself.  There is no middle ground, you are either raising the banner of Christ or you are bringing shame to His name. God is looking for men and women who will take a stand and declare their faith.  He wants men and women who will stand up and defend the many believers who are persecuted daily. If you are a Christian in power and you don’t care about the plight of the brethren, then you are not qualified for greater honor.  God needs defenders and promoters of His cause. God needs you.

And For David…

While some people criticize David Cameron, I think he is a hero of the Christian faith. The British Prime Minister deserves to be honored with the highest form of honor. If the British people will not celebrate him, I believe that there is a remnant that applauds him for his stance. I am one of those who celebrate and appreciate his boldness. He is not like some other leaders who are either ashamed or afraid to take a stand. He is strong enough to declare his faith even at the risk of his political career. Such a man should be celebrated. He is a hero who knows that even though Britain accommodates other cultures and religions, it cannot afford to deny its heritage.  We need more leaders like him. We need people in government who will stand for what they believe. Hopefully we can have a “David Cameron” in the US who will motivate and challenge America to celebrate their holy heritage. 

Lord, send a messenger to remind the American people that unless they return to and trust in the Lord, they are heading for doom.   

On this I rest my case.

Selah!