Who've you robbed today?

The other day I read this really challenging quote from Basil the Great...

"When someone strips a man of his clothes, we call him a thief. And one who might clothe the naked and does not - should not he be given the same name? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat in your wardrobe belongs to the naked; the shoes you let rot belong to the barefoot; the money in your vaults belongs to the destitute."

And then I was reading Luke 3:10-14 and read John the Baptist expressing the same sentiments. He was preaching and baptising people and crowds came flooding to see what was going on and join in. I'm guessing a lot of people who came to be baptised by John were just doing it cos it was the latest thing and everyone was doing it. John pulled no punches in challenging the people's wrong motives. He challenged them about their heart attitude and about allowing themselves to be transformed by the gospel. So the people began asking what they should do, what should a transformed life look like? How did John respond? Did he tell them to go to church? Read the Bible every day? Pray 5 times a day? No. What was his first response?

"If you have 2 shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry."

None of John's responses had anything to do with religious rituals. Instead he talked to them about treating the poor right, about acting with justice and about being content with what they have. Today, when the Christian church encourages people to be transformed and follow Christ we often begin by telling them about religious things they should do and don't even mention the things John the Baptist taught. We appear to have got a mixed up view of what it really means to follow Jesus and have given others the wrong idea too and for that I'm very sorry. Thankfully, the church seems to be beginning to rediscover the heart of what Jesus taught and the importance of justice and loving our neighbour over performing religious acts.