Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Faith and Livelihood

Faith vs Livelihood
Many people seem to think if a person is of a particular faith, he or she should do or not do certain things. This is like telling someone to live lives separate from the crowd if one believes in a faith that requires holiness. Such thinking, in my opinion, is unrealistic and very much mistaken because one cannot live a double life or live a life with an alter-ego identity in the real world.

As a former journalist, I used to have to cover entertainment news of and mix around with people in the entertainment circle—people who spend more time at the clubs than in the offices. Even after I have moved to writing more serious stuff, I continue to keep in contact with these people I know from the so-called 'unholy' side of the world. I also maintain a blog and a Facebook profile where I write about and promote entertainment stuff—including things that are primarily focused on women’s interest—as well as keep abreast of what's happening in the entertainment circle.

Recently, while writing on my other blog about things pertaining to my belief and faith, one of the readers, who knew about my entertainment blog and Facebook profile, send me and email. In it, she told me the things I wrote in my entertainment blog and posted at my Facebook profile do not reflect well of my testimony as a believer of the faith. This feedback upset me a little, and in wanting to please and not hurt anyone in the same faith, I did a thorough cleanup to remove some information and pictures of commercial value from my entertainment blog and Facebook profile. Some days after that, seeing no value in continuing with the Facebook profile, I terminated the account.

Now, my entertainment blog contains only stuff like movies’ synopsis, pictures of food dishes and the likes, minus anything specific pertaining to women’s apparels, fashion goods or other similar stuff. Long before this, my blog was a place of happenings where pictures of night spots and entertainment world, beauties and models, along with related advertisements stood out as information and what men and women want.

With the demise of the less serious stuff from the entertainment world and in its aftermath, my thoughts at times wonder whether I have made the right decision. Should one believing in God not live life as the bridge between the real and spiritual worlds? Can one really separate between living a holy life and living a life of commercial worth? How is anyone going to survive by living among the good with no earthly value instead of making a living mixing around with people that provides the bread and butter?

In a sermon I heard years ago, a speaker said if we are so holy to the point of living our lives (ascended) above ground, we are of no earthly worth to human life. I tend to concur on this frame of thinking. If we are not worth much in this world, then we are of little value in bridging the gap to bring people to the spiritual world. Life before death and after is just a thin line between the two and if we have no livelihood in this world, we need not hope to draw people to desire the other.

May all of us realize that life is not one that can be separated between the real and the spiritual world. Both the real and spiritual intertwine to form one life—that which is physical or eternal. We ought therefore to live our lives wisely and not be deceived by people who believe in living life separated one from the other, between the holy and the worldly. The correct way for us to live is to be in the world, yet not of this world, to be among the crowd and unbelievers, yet not going along to participate in sin. Beyond that, believers and unbelievers can live harmoniously to do things together and establish our earthly worth along with the spiritual.

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