Who is our Father?

No 1315 of Living Life Series 1

We are all like children of God but this does not mean that our earthly fathers are no longer our fathers. 

It is wholesome for man to regard God as the Father but this is not to replace the earthly father. 

In fact, God and saints would prefer we respect and uphold our parents and elders first before we respect God and saints as the fathers. 

To say that there is no other father except the One above is to go against the teaching of God and saints. 

Unfortunately this does happen. 

Buddha even stress that the first temple is the home and if we cannot treasure our home as the first temple, it is pointless to go to a temple. 

Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 stresses on the need to respect elders and parents. This is a universal precept of all religions. 

Thus in everything we do, we must do with reference and respect to parents. We must get the blessings of parents. 

Do not sideline parents and elders. If we cannot get the blessings of parents, how can we expect to get the blessings of God and saints? 

How can we turn logic upside down? But it happens. 

Thus some say we must not end up not recognising our own home and family. We will just be lost in this world if we cannot even know where is our home and family - our elders and parents.

Thus in asian weddings, weddings are centred on parents and the home - not the temple or house of God. Get the blessings of parents and God will bless you ever the more. 

We must support our parents while they are alive, not wait till they pass on. What use is support to temple if we do not support parents?  

Tithes to parents must take precedence over tithes to God. In fact, God do not need our financial support. This will be belittling God. 

Temples do need donations. This must come voluntarily from the heart and not be compelled with threat of hellfire or damnation. Only men may do so but not God.  

A sure way of bringing the temple to their graves

No 1314 of Living Life Series 1

Do not control a temple such that others have no say in how it is run. That is why the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that there be dual keys to a temple - the administrative and the religious key. 

Effectively there will be two bodies - the administrative body and the religious body. 

When there is only one with the administrative body calling the religious tune as well and what with lack of oneness within the management body, well what do we expect. 

There is lack of spiritual calling and with the degradation of spiritualism, there will be suppression of those who differ. 

Instead of fostering more religiosity and insight of doctrine, there is the attitude of asking those who differ and know better to get lost - not directly though but giving them the cold shoulder. 

They manipulate and dominate. They hold on to the temple to themselves and their own circle or clique. It is obvious that those that don't click with them are kept at more than arms length

They feel threatened. They end up bringing the temple to their graves. This is only a figure of speech. But it is bad enough

What will be left is an empty shell - a concrete building which effectively is devoid of people. This has happened to many temples where the management is out to control and not to open up the temples

But the irony is that the good lord says that a temple is the people - people of flesh and blood. This holds true in any religion. 

A temple cannot cater to the interest of a few but must be open to the interests of the many not just to enter its portals but to manage it. Blame not other religions for attracting people away from the religion or sect they are in. 

Do not be rigid and insist that there is only one way. If those who do so, they will cause the inevitable. People will flock to where they can have other ways. 

If men are so dumb as to do so, well, well, they will not only bring the temple to their graves but their religion or sect as well. This may not be their intended goal, but they are too dumb to know that they will head that way. 

There is no way to foolproof a temple or religion from heading that way. Somehow a religion or temple is like what the good lord says is like a flower and blame not the flower for insects and ants coming to it for nectar.

The mission of the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 is to awaken people in their respective religions and temples so that they will not end up with the unthinkable. How can men of religion or of a temple end up bringing their religion or temple to their graves? How can they!