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When religion becomes an instrument of oppression it loses its purpose of bringing hope and fraternity to the community of faith.

"You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God", says the Holy Scriptures. Nonetheless with the increase of new churches in this country and around the world, we have frequently witnessed the transgression of this code by the ones who are supposed to bring comfort to their flock; instead, they bring anxiety and misery by preaching on their flaw and using fear as the path to salvation.

A virtuous spiritual guide should be able to bring the aspiration for moral fiber insights in their congregation members, by encouraging self-transformation through love and mercy. That's when true Light will turn into reality day by day. The Fount of all being, God, invites us to achieve perfection on our own merit. Life is granted to us, so we can make the best of it. That's the gift God gives us when we arrive in this world. The responsibility of growing from a depending infant into a dependable adult is ours. It may sound strange to imagine how we can be accountable for our acts when we are only little babies. Nevertheless, we become making choices right there. Have you ever asked yourself as a parent, or sibling the reason why even receiving the same education and having grown in the same environment, raised by the same parents, we are unlikely to have similar behavior? Some babies are happier than others. Some children like playing video games and some prefer outside activities. The truth is that either conscientious or careless choices will bring the best or the worst to our future life, and sooner we will answer for all these decisions we have made throughout our lives.

Nowadays religion fraternities need to work on inspiring people, instead of setting them apart. If there is a place where all of us are supposed to feel welcome, it should be the place where God is worshiped. Then again, we prefer to point our big finger to the other side of the street, and we forget that with this simple approach, we have placed three other fingers pointing back to us.

Offering guidance is a mitzvah, though we habitually chose slamming our neighbor. Are we better than others when we present ourselves as self-righteous monarchs? Is that God's plan? Are we acting as God's instrument of peace? Are we showing love and respect for our neighbors?

In the name of God we criticize the imprudent fellow. In the name of God we dismiss the ones who are not part of our clan. In the name of God we betray our friends. In the name of God we smile at others, when deep inside we are mocking them. We learned how to manipulate God Holy Scriptures so as to satisfy our own interest in controlling others.

There is only one Ruler in the universe. We are not up to this job, but we can work very hard on transforming our life in a blessing by converting the mistakes into virtues and by standing a comforting hand to others. That's the way we show respect to God's name and creation.

Learn more about this author, Grace Araujo Kolman.
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