The Age of Wisdom

[Originally written May 14, 2006]

All my life, I've come across people who claim that their “sins” can be forgiven if they truly repent and ask God for “forgiveness”. What truly humors me is the fact that, so far, almost every one of these "believers" is reaching the end of their lives and had a youth that is filled with unmentioned atrocities toward the preaching of their own religions.
I've seen many people that preach and talk about God and His divine plan, His kindness and His forgiveness, His promises of Heaven and Eternal Life, and His punishment and Hell; however, who gives these characters the qualifications, to "spread the word", is still a mystery. How does one qualify to become an “Enforcer of God’s Commandments”? How does one become an enforcer, who stops and restricts others from doing things that once were part of his own life, or a messenger that forbids everyone from pursuing all the things that he or she pursued through out his or her life? These are the same things that they once possessed, but now they want others to give them up in the name of God.
Just because someone can memories a few lines from different scriptures, it does not mean that they qualify to lead anyone. Unfortunately, I do not see any human being on this planet that can carry a certificate or a degree that says, “This individual is ‘forgiven’ from all his sins and is qualified to lead others toward the path of righteousness”.
I can accept and understand that with age comes wisdom and I believe that God has planted the "seed of wisdom" within all of us which is meant to grow. I understand that it takes a bit of time for that seed to grow into a fruitful tree and guide us toward the "eternal life of truth and happiness" and to remove the blinds from the eyes of humanity so that we can see the truth as clearly as humanly possible. However, I fail to understand why individuals, who claim to have reached the "age of wisdom", cannot comprehend the notion that everyone needs a great amount of time, in order to have a better understanding of God's given life and what it has to offer.
Among many others, one of the most valuable gifts that God gave humanity is the ability to make a choice when it comes to “right” and “wrong”. With out this ability and the sense to differentiate, there will not be much difference between angels and human beings or even animals and humans. Quite frankly, there will not be a purpose for humanity to be considered the ultimate creation without this ability. If this choice is so important and valuable that without it humanity is incomplete then why do these “old timers”, who cannot stop from preaching the younger generations, fail to understand and accept that?
In the beginning, human beings are dependent on the “conditioning” from a “source of information” that is designed to guide them. This source of information programs and transforms the “shell of flesh and blood” into an "individual" of certain believes and faith, leading this individual toward an unknown future with restrictions and a set of instructions. When someone is raised to be a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, or a Buddhist, it becomes his or her set of instructions or in other words “religion”. However, this programming and this conditioning are only effective if that individual is bound to them and only to them; he or she will remain true to these “teachings” if he or she is never introduced to any other source of information that can influence his or her mind. But once that individual is unleashed into this world that offers so much more than what he or she was raised to believe, he or she will use the “conditioned wisdom” to qualify and disqualify these sources and its information. As soon as that individual finds something that makes more sense to him or her, he or she will use his or her “ability to choose”.
Is it wrong to use your own judgment to make a choice when it comes to practicing a religion? Is it really that bad that God-given “wisdom” is being used to redirect the process for selecting a method of His worship? There are many questions that are attracted toward this natural process of human being’s psychological and spiritual development; however, it’s unwise to even consider that this process of human development can be restricted to an absolute path which is not suppose to change or will not be allowed to change. This process is what leads the individual to test different concepts and analogies before finally committing to one of them, if not many. This is the same process of human development which has been guiding humanity toward its present advancements in technology and the quality of human life. If God did not intend human beings to develop in this manner, than He would have ended life on this planet a long time ago.
To some extremists, many individuals, that are diverting from “the path”, have committed extreme atrocities and "sins" that are punishable by “religious laws”. What intrigues me is the reasoning and techniques they use to justify their anger and their actions. If everyone follows the same old theory that “All is well that is done in the name of God” then anyone can commit any crimes and atrocity against humanity without punishment. All they have to do is say, “God told me to do this and I obeyed my Lord” and that should be enough for the man made authorities. Who is making more sense now? Someone who uses the name of God to dictate his or her own will? Or someone who was peacefully looking for an answer or a path that leads him or her toward the light? There is a reason why this concept does not make sense and there is a reason why “terrorism” cannot be justified by using the name of God. But no one needs to explain this concept. It’s the matter of having common sense to know that only God can make the decision about someone’s life, not the imperfect human.
Does it matter what source is being used to guide an individual toward God or the path of righteousness? If a child is raised to believe that there is no God then he will mature with that understanding and will not follow or understand any other concept. On the other hand, if a child is raised to believe that even thinking about harming someone is a sin in God’s view then that person will continue to prevent him or her self from doing so. However, these two scenarios are only possible if these two subjects are never introduced to anything other source of information and in today’s “global village”, it’s simply not possible to restrict someone from absolutely everything else. And today’s youth is up to date with everything that is happening in this world. Unfortunately for the “old timers”, preaching without practicing does not make a good and solid example for the young generation to follow. Technically, it’s not even their fault because they were once part of the same dominant conditioning and the process of selecting their paths; however, it’s easy to forget how long it takes for the seed of wisdom to grow into a tree and unfortunately, even with their trees of wisdom, they have not been able to grasp the simplest of logic that it takes time to understand the clues that leads toward the path of righteousness.

How long will it take for me to start looking for that path? Only God knows that answer. Most probably when I have more answers to solve or understand the puzzle that we all call life. But even then, if I have found the true path toward the eternal glory that awaits me, I wouldn't be caught preaching the ones that aren't ready for it. I wouldn't want someone to look at me and wonder the same thing I wonder when look at "them".