Holiness in Unity
By Michael Paul
As a child I had a severe phobia when it came to needles. Under Sadam’s dictatorship control, Iraq was a collective society, where every aspect of life was controlled by the government. There was a strict protocol when it came to vaccination requirements, compelling all children to be immunized at regularly scheduled vaccine clinics in their schools. During my third grade year, I remember dreading one of these such scheduled clinics. I begged my mom to allow me to stay home, but she assured me that would only delay the inevitable, that the health officials would follow up and track me down to assure my compliance. She also told me something I will never forget. She said that the vaccine protocol is designed to protect the individual from contracting highly contagious viruses, but an immunized individual also protects others. Because the culture I was raised in, teaches each individual has an obligation to the rest of society, I learned that I must build myself up for the benefit of others.
This was only a cultural attitude, however, not an Islamic principle because the Qur’an devotes a large portion of its text promoting hatred and disdain for others. The writings encourage deception and murder when encountering unbelievers and apostates. Islamists are taught from an early age that they are the only segment of society with any value, that Jews and Christians are on the same level as pigs. In fact, they are commanded to refrain from touching unbelievers because they are unclean and if a Muslim is practicing Islam, even today, they will quickly go and wash if they are forced to touch an “infidel.” They are taught an entitlement mentality, that they have the right to take advantage of unbelievers’ generosity and ignorance of Islam, to collect as many spoils as possible from those who don’t deserve their possessions. They are on a mission: to Islamize the entire world by any means necessary, by allocating millions of dollars toward the cause, using deceit, ignorance of disbelievers and domination by the sword.
I was having a conversation with one such Islamist the other day and learned he has ties to the Islamic Militia. He is here in America as a “refugee,” and is taking advantage of all the blessings available to him as a refugee in this country. However, he began disrespecting our country, the government and the citizens who have given him shelter here. He has no respect for this land God provided for him as a means of escape from his former nation. It disturbs me that there are people taking the best from this country, dining daily at its buffet of liberty, freedom and peace, while cursing it out of the other side if their mouths. There is no principle of respect taught in the Qur’an and no loyalty other than that demanded by Allah.
Compare the teachings of Islam to those of Jesus. He spent his entire ministry on earth modeling a peaceful, loving attitude toward everyone. His goal was to show Christians how to live with a focus on His Kingdom, not according to the desires of this world. He taught us to be others focused, to live sacrificially and humbly. He broke every mold of the “perfect” life because He lived not according to man’s ideas and laws, but under the law of love. He accepted water from a Samaritan woman’s jar and made her His very first missionary, sending her out to tell her people. His actions were shocking because she was a woman, but also because the Samaritans were viewed as dirty.
Jesus taught us to be Thankful, that every good thing in our life is given by God, the creator. That we are owed nothing in this life, but that He chose to love us before we existed, to bless us and sacrifice for us. He only wants us to choose Him in return, and live our lives according to His principles. In this way, I sometimes say that Jesus was a “socialist,” not as we think of socialism today, but in a perfect way for society to function. He shows us how our society can not be built as one of unity, until we first become whole within. He does a mighty work in us, that we individually unite with Him, then live in oneness with the rest of His body. Unified with His goal in mind, we tend to sacrifice our own needs in order to do His will for others.
If this this principle were lived out, there would be no hate, no poverty and no reason to sacrifice ourselves because we would be living “all as one.” This is a very successful way to function as a society. However, loyalty is imperative. Loyalty is not a piece of paper. Citizenship should mean loyalty, a pride in the land God has provided for your existence. When I think about unity, I always think of the Spartan society in Ancient Greece. When faced with seemingly insurmountable odds against a much larger military, they joined together with shields raised overhead. They did this in an attempt to portray themselves as a much larger threat, a formidable foe, and this tactic worked. The enemy could not see the individuals, but just a huge mass, reflecting the sun like a giant eye. They thought they were dealing with some sort of monster! There is great power in loyalty and unity.
This is the message I wish to leave with Christians. The character of Christ is one that has been modeled in my culture for thousands of years. Iraq was one of the original Christian nations. It is only recently the teachings of Islam have invaded my nation like a cancer, the way it is now so invasive in this great country. The Muslim people are a mission field ripe for harvest. They already have a deeply ingrained sense of a life lived according to God’s principles. They are simply deceived into submission to a false god. Matthew 9:37-38 ... “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” To Contact Michael Paul, look for the advertisement for his barber shop, JC Style, in this issue.