AT THE CROSSROADS (AGAIN?)
A reflection by Buntoro Sugianto

One night, Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives, and came to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed. It was one of His last days on this earth. Jesus knew what he had to do, but even He struggled in His humanity. Perhaps His flesh rejected the idea of dying on a cross, a humiliating offense for the Jews at that time, but His Spirit remained steadfast. And at the end of the struggle, the greatest story of love was unfolded.

Even after years being a Christian and learning about the stories in it, I can never fully comprehend the depth of the stories contained in this simple book known as a Bible. Its stories give me different nuances or insights every time I read them. So, what’s with Gethsemane? Doesn’t it have to do with Easter and His Resurrection? Of course the story has something to do with Easter, but that’s not all of it. I believe the Lord’s struggles at Gethsemane can be used to better understand our daily struggles.

One may ask, what does Garden of Gethsemane have to do with rising gas prices or the apparent worldwide recession? Believe it or not, it does. The story of Gethsemane is a story of inner struggle in a human being (Concerning its body and soul), and the right decisive acts which lead to victory. Every one of us will face our own crossroads (some of them are easier than the others). As we face the rising gas prices and cost of living, some of the less fortunate of us may stumble into a difficult crossroad. Should I use my money to pay for gas or should I use it to buy foods? Should I “steal” foods or drinks (even something “innocent” such as taking fountain sodas by using our “water” cups)? Should I cheat my taxes to survive? We all know, the list could go on and on.

The declining economy along with weak job market and rising prices often forced us to compromise our standards. I even recently heard a joke in the church about how do we know if the economy is really bad. Is it when the Texans start driving electric cars as it was featured in online news page recently? Not quite. The pastor claimed that we know that the economy is bad when a family went out for a dinner and the father told his sons that he may have to let one of them go because of the economy. It may sound funny and hilarious at first, but as we look deeper we can see a shed of truth and an ugly reality behind the joke. Some may ask: Is it really possible for a loving father to sacrifice his own families because of the bad economy? Yes, it is indeed. In America, we may not yet seen the news of actual cases of father throwing one sons away just to survive, but they do happen in many other parts of the world during the bad times. I had a friend in Surabaya who told me that he never knew his real families because they traded him for a sack of rice when he was young. It was a sad reality of survival. Truly, in difficult times or when they’re at a disadvantage, human beings often make mind-boggling decisions. Even the first crime committed in this world, how Cain murdered his brother Abel, was also a result of human desires to survive, I believe.

Some of us may claim that we will never do anything “low” like that regardless of how bad our situations may be. Well, I suggest that whosoever has such thoughts to take a deeper look inside his/her lives first. I believe the main reason why some people may say something like that is because they have never experienced truly difficult things in their lives. Yes, we all experience difficult things, but our magnitude of difficulties may differ from one to another. We will never know how hard one’s hardship may be unless we walk on his/her shoes.

Lawrence Kohlberg, one of the leading thinkers on Moral Development, claimed that there are six stages of moral development, from the primordial Pre-Conventional morality level to the complex Post-Conventional Morality level. Kohlberg argued that in the Pre-Conventional level, people’ actions are strongly influenced by their obedience and fear of punishment, as well as their relative individual interests. In the higher Conventional level, people’s actions are influenced by their desires to have good interpersonal relationships and to maintain social order. In the most sophisticated Post-Conventional level, people’s actions are influenced by social contract and individual rights, as well as their adherence of universal principles. Unfortunately, the moral problems of this world may be more complicated than these simple stages. One of the TV’s reality shows recently asked an interesting question to its contestant: If you are guaranteed that you would not be caught, would you commit a felony? Not surprisingly, the contestant replied: Sure! I believe the majority of people in our society today would have answered in the same manner. Even the smaller number of people who insisted that they would never do such things will probably violate their own convictions when they are hard pressed and have nowhere else to turn.

I stumbled into another interesting article recently. It says that if you think that most people will not commit frauds, you are wrong! The author was a professor of an auditing class. Interestingly, the author wrote a similar line, most people will commit frauds if they believe that they will not be caught. As I looked back to my past, I found myself being the real life example of what the professor claimed. I have to admit that many trespasses I committed in the past were influenced by similar belief. O, what a wretched man that I am!

I am blessed to have been able to live both in Indonesia and the United States of America, especially during the times of hardships so that I can compare the situation in a fair manner. The 1997-1998 era was one rough period in Indonesia’s history. As Rupiah plummeted, a large number of the population also lost their jobs while they saw the prices of goods and foods soared. Crime rates went up. As the economy collapsed, waves of political turbulences also took place. With the involvement of certain elements of the Indonesian Armed Forces, one of the worst humanitarian tragedies in recent history of Indonesia took place. USA also experienced similar occurrences in 2007-2008, but the outcome is somewhat different.

There seems to be a fundamental difference between these two countries. What is it? Some people may claim that it was because of the country’s strong fundamental as Christians Nation, others may claim because of the influence of the sizeable Christians population. Parts of the arguments may be true, but I believe that’s not all of it. I believe the strongest safeguard to prevent the occurrence of large scale humanitarian tragedy as what happened in Indonesia 1997-1998 is the enforcement of law and order. Without this, I believe similar tragedies could take place, though they may be in a much smaller scale.

Back to Kohlberg theory, it seems somewhat surprising that the majority of the citizens of the great country like USA can be considered to be in the Pre-Conventional stage. But the reality often hurts! Even if I could ask Christians in the USA, especially those who experiences hardship, would you commit a felony if you are guaranteed not to be caught? If they could answer honestly with guarantee that no one will find out their answers, a large number will probably answer YES! How could I say so? The answer lies in our hearts, as they grow increasingly wicked, just as the Days of Noah draw near.

Some of us are privileged to be more affluent than the others, but let not our affluences be used against us later when we are judged in front of the Mercy Seat of Christ. Indeed, when Jesus said that it will be harder for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God compared to camel through the eye of a needle, He was not exaggerating, He merely stated the facts. But those of us who are more privileged than other should not worry too much. Jesus did not say that rich people will never enter the Kingdom of God, it’s just difficult. Why is it difficult? The riches itself is neutral, because riches itself can be used to work wonders if used properly. But I warn rich believers to be careful so that they will not be trapped in the mazes of the riches, that they would love the riches more than anything else.

Why? Is it wrong for rich people to spend their own money? No, not really if you are a non-believer, since you only live for yourself and eventually die by yourself. But as follower of Jesus, we ought to live like Him. Should we not care about our less fortunate brothers when we have plenty? James, the brother of the Lord, repeatedly wrote about this subject in his epistle as he witnessed the widening gap between the rich and poor believers at that time. The same thing still exists in today’s world. In this imperfect world, we need to exercise caution in making any decisions since whatever small our decision may be, it may still cause a stumbling block for the weak. But exercising caution to not do something sinful may be easier than weighing something less obvious, such as should we reward ourselves with certain luxuries? Or should we not eat if it may cause others to stumble? It is often easier to draw a line separating right and wrong when it comes to offenses, but it is harder when it comes to the grey areas. How about our insensitiveness? How about lavish spending? How about indirect cruelty or injustices? Where do they stand?

I recently read news about Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas casino magnate who just purchased a 231-carat pear-shaped diamond for an undisclosed amount of money and how the only daughter of Bakrie Group boss bought a wedding ring worth more than Rp. 3 billion (more than $300,000) when his father’s company caused great afflictions to many people in Sidoarjo. It is truly sad that even amidst all the bleak news about the economy, we will have no difficulty in finding news about rich tycoons or celebrities who just spent money like water. I was reminded of a quote from a Christian research organization which claimed that this world today actually has sufficient resources to feed every hungry and needy person in the planets with great excess. But then the question remains: Why do we still hear news about famines and other poverty-related issues everywhere? I don’t deny the facts that many factors (distribution, education etc.) may contribute to the problems, but I believe the real issue actually lies closer to home.

Steve Wynn or Bakrie’s daughter may appear to be a very pompous and insensitive person, but before we cast any stone, we should not forget that we may also have similar conducts, although in a less obvious way. We heard news about wealthy pastors who also live jet-set life styles, amidst news of financial hardships experienced by most commoners. How about middle class Christians like us? Have we also abused our privilege in living our lives as if we only live for ourselves? True, it is your money. You earned it and you have the freedom on how to use it (Although it’s also your own responsibility to account for the money later on). I am merely expressing my deep concern that we Christians should be more careful in our spending, and aim for something with greater eternal values.

Indeed, some of us may have acted foolishly and stumbled in this pit due to our sheer negligence, while others were due to the pressures of life or family members. Few months ago, I saw a documentary about Robert Hanssen, a former FBI agent who became double agents and took money from Moscow partly because he believed he could not satisfy his wife’s desires for luxuries with his meager salary. I don’t know if the story was accurate or not, but it was a sad story. I believe some of us may have experienced similar cases in a much smaller magnitude. One may be hard pressed as he/she realized that the only options he/she had were all bad. Sadly, we cannot go back when we are trapped in it. But thanks to Him who is able to lift us off from the deepest pit, we still have hope for redemption.

After we are freed, and if we are to start over again, must we repeat our mistakes? God Forbid! We all make mistakes and sometimes exercise poor judgments in our lives, but if we are given second chances to redeem ourselves, we should never repeat the same mistakes. Praise be to God, because He is a God of second chances. Now, are you currently at the crossroads of life and does not know what to do? I suggest that you read again the story at the Garden of Gethsemane and learn from our meek and lowly Savior. What would Jesus do?

Blessings,

Buntoro Sugianto is currently at the crossroads of life and quietly seeking God’s wisdom and mercy.

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