A middle-aged man once came to me for help when I was serving in a church. He asked me to repair his old TV set.
Talking with him, I came to know that his wife, a Christian, had divorced him two years before and he was living in poverty alone. When the man touched on his hurt in the past, he started crying, which aroused my compassion on him.
"How long has your wife been a Christian?" I asked. "She has been a Christian for at least 5 years," he replied.
"Why would she divorce you?"
"Maybe because she thought that I was too poor." Being poor may undignify a man before his wife.
Looking at the man, who appeared to be very old and humble, I began to have confusion and doubts, asking God in my heart why He did not bless His people and why allowed the man's wife to leave him, making his life more miserable.
Feeling suddenly that I owed him something, I decided to go to his home to repair his TV set just because he was my brother.
After I drove to his home, I saw a dilapidated house with a low door. Having stooped down to enter his house, which was wet and messy with no good furniture, I sighed to myself, exclaiming "how could a man come to such a state!"
I could guess that the man was lazy. It seemed to be the cause of his poverty but that was not the root cause.
There were three pictures hung on the wall, one Jesus, the others god of fortune and god of posterity. Seeing the pictures, I could imagine the man's inner desires.
Before I asked him, the man told me proudly that the picture of Jesus was sent by his church while the other two were bought by himself at a very good price. The man started to feel at ease and pointing at the three pictures, he told me that Jesus could grant him peace, the fortune god could give him wealth and the last one could make him fertile.
I was speechless and felt extremely sad and regretful. I was sorry for the man for none of his desires could satisfy him. I regretted of my complaint about his poverty before God out of ignorance.
There are many such believers in the real world, claiming to be Christians but who do not have any knowledge of the Bible. They mingle idols and Christian faith together and trample God's grace under foot. The miserable must have serious problems. The Bible tells us that we can not have other gods except God, and we should love the Lord our God with all our heart. There are many believers who ignore this commandment and experience a huge loss of blessings.
There is an article that rightly and vividly compares Christians to postcards. A lot of people come to understand our faith and God through the testimony of Christians. Christians affect to a certain effect other's understanding of Christianity, so we have to mind our words and behaviors.
For new believers, we should tell them God's commandments, God is a jealous God to help them avoid unnecessary loss due to ignorance.
Outward idols can be removed but inner ones can be dealt with only by the cross. Let us become new persons in God's word and receive Christ's rewards for us!
Written by a believer in Liaoling.
Translated by Alvin Zhou
