“Challenge of Christian Life as a Response to the
Situation of corruption in India”
In this era of extreme scientific and technological
growth, there are many changes taking place in our everyday life activities.
These changes oftentimes make us wonder at the existing realities in the world
and raise many fundamental questions in life especially when the changes
directly or indirectly affect the individuals. When I look at these changes, I
would like to divide them into that of positive changes and negative changes.
Though there are many positive changes taking place every now and then we cannot
in any way deny the fact that the negative changes happening in our midst bring
many evil effects in the life of every one on this earth and it becomes a huge
hindrance to the overall growth of the entire humanity. We witness many kinds
of social evils existing in our nation and these social evils block us from
blooming into a better, brighter and bigger nation in the international arena. It
is known fact that India, our glorious nation once, has become well known for
corruption. The shameful scenario of corruption needs to be addressed without
delay and this should be the duty of every citizen of this nation. In the midst
of corruption and many other evils existing in our Indian society, Christian
life puts forth a challenge that spurs everyone to act against corruption and
put an end to this corrupt situation of the nation. Certainly corruption has
become a common evil in India that has crept into every walk of our life and it
should be eradicated. And for this important mission of eradicating corruption,
Christian life poses a big challenge and calls for a real positive change by
our renewed life of honesty, transparency and integrity.
Uniqueness
of India:
India is unique in innumerable
ways. Undoubtedly, when we trace back the history of the world, we would
understand the truth that India has been a glorious land rich in all aspects.
It is precisely because of this that the British had come to India to loot the
wealth of this rich nation. Even today many developed nations like America want
to sign important treaties with our country and they want to begin their
companies in our land, everything is due to the enormous amount of wealth that
lies in our land. In almost all the fields, our country has been recognized as
one of the fast developing nations by very many countries. We have proved to
the whole world that this land of ours is known for its varied unique
performances in the world scenario. Being one of the world’s largest democratic
nations on earth, our country has provided umpteen opportunities for practicing
democracy unlike other countries that control the people. We have developed
quite to a great extend in Satellite technology, agro- productivity and there
have been many new innovative changes in socio- economic and political
scenario. There have been many development projects for the welfare of the
people and the GOVT over the decades has tried its best to provide the maximum
possible for the betterment of all the citizens of the nation. We must certainly
be proud of this uniqueness of our country. YET, we must never deny the fact
that there are many social evils which keep us away from the human values and
make us forget the main purpose of our being on this earth. Of all the evils,
corruption has become more prevalent than ever and it should be eradicated
without delay.
Corruption- a Chronic Illness:
Though our nation has been unique in many ways over the
centuries, in the recent past there have been many shameful scams and this has
brought a very bad name for the nation. Corruption has of course become a
shameful social evil in our nation and has caused many evil effects as well.
Corruption in a way has become a chronic illness in the nation affecting the entire growth of the nation. This chronic illness has been the main cause of
many problems in our society- injustices, poverty, inequality, amassing of
wealth, etc. In both
rural and urban India, poverty plays a crucial role and it has been worsening
besides the initiatives from the government and this is due to the corrupt
politicians who don’t do their job properly in promoting the humanity. The slums
in some of the major cities of our country are increasing and the poor people
in those slums are forced to lead their lives in an unhygienic condition and
thus they are prone to many diseases too. Poverty at the outset has affected
the poor people at large and people struggle for their survival. Seeing this
ongoing struggle, one would certainly look for a proper tool to eradicate this
evil and thus make a road to help the people for their survival.
Reason for corruption:
Looking at
the shameful situation of corruption in India, one should certainly look for
the reasons for this chronic illness- corruption. There are many reasons for
this evil yet I would like to focus on a few things. The first and foremost
reason I find is the increasing selfishness of the people in our nation. Due to
the selfishness of the individuals, the concern for the other is no more
present in our midst. Many in our nation today want to possess more and more
wealth at any cost through any means possible. The attitude of ‘having more’ is
increasing day by day and the present generation has lost importance of ‘being
more.’ In order to have more, they want to grab everything possible at the cost
of the poor and the oppressed of our society. There is a huge amount of wealth
being misused by minimal number of the masses while the maximum number of poor
people suffer without their basic needs. Human greed has been the reason for
this chronic illness. Secondly, there is a moral crisis in our nation today. The
increasing human greed in many ways has brought this moral crisis. By moral
crisis, I mean the ever increasing immoral behavior of the people. There is ethical
decline and almost everyone in this nation seems to be ready to sacrifice
his/her ethical values in order to fulfill their greed and not need. Thirdly, I
consider the failure of the government to eradicate corruption, as the reason
for this chronic illness. It is the essential duty of the government to ensure
the eradication of corruption. But the government in many ways has failed to
act against those who get involved in corrupt activities from the beginning
though there seems to be a few arrests and punishments in the recent past.
Besides the reasons mentioned above there are also many reasons for this
chronic illness. Looking at the reasons alone will in no way help us to
eradicate corruption in our nation. But rather, we need to find an amicable
solution for this corrupt situation in our nation.
Christian life- as a challenge:
We could
find more than one way to put an end to the existing evil of corruption in our
nation that blocks India from becoming a developed nation. India has been a
cradle for many ancient religions and we could certainly find the remedies from
the teachings of those ancient religions. Yet, I deliberately bring Christian
teachings as a powerful remedy to eradicate corruption from our nation. Jesus
Christ during His life time on earth struggled to bring justice, peace and
equality for all people of God and this is precisely the reason for choosing
Christian teachings. The Christian teachings invite us to fight for justice in
our day to day life and promote justice, peace and equality in our midst not
only through our words but through our life. This was precisely practiced by
Jesus Himself, who dared to be different in His approach towards promoting the human
values through His life. He was compassionate, peace- loving towards people,
ever willing to help others in need, ever ready to embrace sinners and forgive
them, and above all He was ready to empty Himself to bring life to the poor and
the suffering ones of God. Christian life is nothing but following the
teachings and life of Jesus Christ, who promoted human values in His entire
life. Thus following the footsteps of Jesus, Christian life calls for a
dignified life of respecting others and sharing everything with others in need,
which is opposed to amassing of wealth- the main characteristic of those
involved in corruption in India. Following the footsteps of Jesus, the
Christian life puts forth a big challenge for all the citizens of the nation to
promote justice, peace and equality and eradicate corruption. In the present
scenario of corruption in India, Christian life calls for a transformed life in
order to transform the entire nation at large. And so in the corrupt nation of
ours, leading a life that Jesus led is highly difficult and challenging, yet
that is the need of the hour in order to put an end to corruption and bring
back the lost human values of justice, peace and equality.
Educate to Eradicate:
Christian life comes as a clarion call to fight against
corruption. At this present situation of corruption in India, there is
important need to educate others in order to eradicate corruption. We need to
learn a lot from the Christian teachings to educate others. The teachings of
Christ invite us to be other centered rather than self-centered. When we focus
on the wellbeing of others automatically we will change our attitude towards
wealth and cultivate the habit of sharing the wealth with others in need. Jesus
was very compassionate in His life and was kind to those in need. The Christian
life puts forth an invitation to be more and more compassionate towards others
and regard others as brothers and sisters with whom we need to share our very
being. Educating to eradicate corruption becomes an important mission of the
Christians. The Christians, having learned from the life of Christ, are called
to educate others that corruption is a virulent disease and that has to be
eradicated immediately in order to make the humanity live better. Emphasizing on
the need for fighting against corruption, every Christian has the prime
responsibility to educate others to eradicate corruption not through mere words
but through our very life that is rooted in the teachings of Christ.
A Tough Task ahead:
Living a life that is worthy of being His disciples in
this modern world of ours is a tough task yet not an impossible one. When we
envision a nation that is free of corruption, the role of Christians in making
the vision come true becomes highly imperative. In this nation of ours, wherein
we come across many corrupt leaders, who exploit the poor and the oppressed for
their vested interests, it is an important duty of each Christian to live a
life worthy of being a beacon of hope in fighting against corruption. Jesus
calls all of us to bring the kingdom of God come true and that should happen
not in heaven but rather the kingdom of God should prevail in our midst here
and now. In order to make that happen, we need to get rooted in the teachings
of Christ and become the living witnesses of His love on earth. Let us not
forget that the Christian life is not a bed of roses rather it is full of many
challenges that invite us to lead our lives in faith rooted in His love.
Certainly leading such a sincere Christian life, we can educate others to
eradicate corruption in a better way.
Towards a corrupt free nation:
As a young citizen of India I always long to see my
nation to be free of corruption and to be a place of freedom, equality, justice
and peace, where every citizen could lead his/ her life with dignity in
happiness. Obviously, it might be the inner desire of many citizens of this
nation who have love for the nation. The corrupt politicians today have spoiled
the name of our nation due to their vested interests and they have misused the
power given to them by the people. They were suppose to use their political
power for the betterment of the people at large but they have failed to do so
by falling prey to their selfish desires. They have paid more attention to
amassing more wealth for themselves and failed to build India a better place to
live in. We are now at the crossroads towards a corrupt free nation. Following
the teachings of Christ, the Christians should be the torchbearers of this
march towards a corrupt free nation. Let us enlighten the whole nation letting every
citizen know of the importance of being more rather than having more in life.
In this march towards a corrupt free nation, we need to emphasize on the
importance of human need rather than human greed and that is precisely the
essence of Christian Life.
Conclusion:
We, Christians are called and sanctioned by God to take
active part in the transformation of society and in promoting human values not
through our words alone but through our effective deeds of daily life. Having
realized the need for a true transformation in our nation against corruption,
let us be determined that it is the fundamental duty of every Christian to
challenge the modern men and women in order to eradicate corruption. Certainly,
Christian life is a challenge for all in this corrupt condition of our nation
and it calls for a renewal of heart in respecting others, showing our
solidarity with the suffering citizens of the nation and in eradicating
corruption in our nation, which will pave way for a brighter future in our
nation. Having experienced the richness of the teachings of Christ, the
Christians all over the nation need to share the fruits of their Christian life
among their fellow brothers and sisters which will eventually spur them to act
against corruption and bring the Gospel values come true in our midst.
Understanding the evil effects of corruption in our nation let us not be the
change makers rather let us try to be the change that we want to see in our
nation for the wellbeing of every being on earth. And that will be the best
example of leading a true Christian life that Christ our Lord envisioned.
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