ETHOS OF CHRISTIANITY.
As abiding Christians we must not conform to the pattern of this world, but we are to be transformed by the renewing of mind. Then we will be able to know the perfect Will and Purpose of God for our lives; (Rom. 12:2) We must focus our thoughts on the person of Jesus Christ and differ radically from those who abide by the wisdom promoted by the worldly system. We must accept that Jesus Christ was manifested by God for a divine purpose for us to be fulfilled within the timeframe of man’s life in this world. Therefore we have no time to waste on frivolities. We must be conscious and realize that our time, talent, and resources are items of target by the devil. All human labours stand the risk of being wasted on perishable goals instead of investing them preciously on virtues of heavenly values. If we invest to the world, we are left with nothing reserved for the world to come. We must value our relationship with God through Jesus Christ as priceless gold and as honour unto God. Through Christ, we are investing towards divine goals of everlasting values.
Christian ethos must emphasize on the core concept of the Christian life that Jesus Christ died for all of us and that we should no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus who died for us and was raised again; (2Cor 5:14-15). So we must be ready to live for Christ daily. We must believe that God works through the grace-giving principles and that God is able to bless us abundantly, so that in all things and at all times we will have all our needs through faith in Christ. So we are to abound in every good work always in expectation to receive from Him all our needs in sufficiency according to God’s promise; (2Cor 9:8) We must believe and practice the scriptural concept of giving while we are living, following the example of those who have gone before us: The wise men saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh; (Mat 2:11). Give and it shall be given unto you in great measures; (Lk 6:38).
The Christian must be ready to suffer hatred, persecution and disgrace for the sake of Christ, preferring eternal values than the treasures of this world. We must be ready to make restitution where and when we erred. Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount; (Luke 19:8). We must not focus on the things of this present world without the thought of tomorrow because the things the world considers important like power, position, wealth, and status will perish away. Finally, we must always speak the language of the Lord and spread the message of wisdom of God to others. Not according to the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this world which profits nothing; (1Cor 2:6). Ethos of Christianity must constraint us to possess the ideals of excellent Christian characters. To achieve this, we must all come to Jesus without exemption and accept Him as Lord and Saviour, no matter our religious inclination, and He will help us out.
