Living MY religion

My friend recently posted this on this Facebook status.

" Live well, stay healthy, faithful to your partner, family and friends. Eat well. Laugh often and do good. That is my religion"

This is not a cult that he formed. Far from it, it is the officially cited and sometimes non-cited 'religion' of many, many people in the world today; particularly in the West or from those who are influenced by the mores of Western behaviour and thought. The faith of their fathers is archaic, irrelevant and downright nasty in some cases. We, as modern people, are now enlightened and see that there is no God.

Essentially, it means that you are the Captain of your own ship, you own the ship too and you are totally responsible for steering the ship to get to your destination. And there is no one else who is involved or present that you should be accountable for. It is a religion based on the worship of one god: Yourself

How would the Christian respond?

I wouldn't bother with a lengthy response. Scripture doesn't even bother with pages upon pages trying to prove the existence of God. It simply says:

"The fool says in his heart, "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1)

Notice that the key term is "in his heart". Not with his mouth, although that may be assumed. Not with his actions, or a Facebook post, although that may be assumed as well. But deep down, in the hidden bowels of his heart, he has already decided that there is "no God". So, all the counter arguments to a certain extent will make about as much dent as a sprinkle of water on the Sahara. His heart is barren of the living waters of the Holy Spirit, which means that he is as lifeless and as bereft of life as the aforementioned desert itself

In other words, at times, there is no arguing with a dead man. Dead is dead. And should God choose to revive and regenerate the heart at a later stage, may you be the one to bring the Gospel to such a person so that they may be rejoicing in Heaven. But right now, he is dead to the Word and in fact, ready to counter your efforts because he has already decided, and he is a fool for doing so.

Where do we see another usage of the term "Fool"? It's in Luke 12:19-20 where Jesus relates the parable of the rich fool.

"And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, 'Fool!'. This night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"

The sad thing is that he is not a fool for just denying the Lordship of God. The tragic uninmaginable horror is that the fool will get for eternity what he has seeked for in his time on earth:eternal separation from God. But by then, it will be too late to repent. The door has closed forever

That is the real essence of foolishness.