Want What’s Real?
or will you settle for what’s fake…
3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. 5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” 6 No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. 7 Who should not fear you, King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.
from a very young age my sister and i were taught many chinese practices, traditions, and lifestyle - going to the buddhist temple to pray and celebrate; burning incense & fake money to honor the dead; lion and dragon dances to scare off the “evil spirit”, bad luck, etc. it was hard to know which was what and the significance of it all between the ages of 1 (don’t remember a thing) through 12, while middle to high school it became less and less. perhaps some of it was for cultural reasons while the others religious.
i know many abc’s (american born chinese) that i grew up around had to do the same if their parents were immigrants. the same things we had to do, they did it too. so, one part is that it was taught to us by our elders who were likely instructed the same when they were younger and even as they grew older adopted the practices and traditions, perhaps some even accepting it as their belief system, their religion.
as we all got older it became less prevalent in our lives, or at least it was for us/me as i got tired of going, not believing or feeling what we were doing had any meaningful significance and impact for my life and only continued doing so as those in my family did culturally. the chanting, the offerings, worshipping the so-called ‘gods’ and bowing to the fat guy with a big belly became irritating, stupid as i didn’t believe in any of it.
what changed for and in us was learning about God, about Jesus, the Holy Ghost (not so much the understanding of The Trinity and power of the Spirit at that young age) and having that foundation and base for our lives. though i did not live a sinless life, i did know what was right and wrong and the fundamentals of what was taught in school and what we read from The Bible stayed with me. while conviction sucks because no one likes to feel horrible, it is because of it that i am able to face my problems and work to correct them.
without the foundation of knowing what is real, what is true, you will simply follow what you are told, are taught, especially if you’re a kid who doesn’t know any better. fortunately our mom sent my sister and i to a very good school that taught from The Bible and the importance of a relationship with our Heavenly Father. looking back, if we didn’t have any the knowledge of who God is, who Jesus is, i feel my life would be completely different - jail or death. not that as a prodigal son our loving Heavenly Father would not have come after me, because He did; it is that you couldn’t imagine how living such a crappy (criminal, deceitful, ungodly) life you deserved anything less than punishment, jail time, even death.
really am glad that i could see past the bs of doing the ritualistic, cultural things that were a part of my life in my childhood. seeing so many people place there hope in nothing is sad and a bummer, especially when you have the hope in the one that gave us life, provides us meaning, our value is in Him, we can get through what we are going through far better than trying to do it solo or with the so-called “gods” of this world that don’t answer prayers. we simply need to hold firm, stay strong, be focused, and work on being more like Christ each and every day. no idol, no “thing” can ever take the place of our Lord and Savior Jesus.
dear Heavenly Father, thank you for helping me see through the fake and only want what is genuine, the real deal, and that is you, your Son Jesus, your Holy Spirit. so grateful for coming after me, loving on my family and teaching me who i am in and through you Lord. please continue to have your way in my and my family's lives. in your beautiful and wonderful name Jesus we pray, amen!