The Gods We Worship

There is an anthropological axiom that states, “People become like the gods they worship.” I’ve been thinking about that a great deal since coming to Pattya last week for a WEA Missions Commission Consultation.

Seven out of ten men who come to Thailand as tourist do so for sex. While walking the beach last night I saw several men in their ‘60’s walking with prostitutes not too many years older than my granddaughter. As I observed another European staggering to his hotel and another old guy with a male prostitute, I wondered what it says about the gods they serve.

I am no expert in Buddhism, which the primary religion of Thailand. I understand that one of the roles of girls is to provide for their parents economically. Many of the girls, who are dedicated to the spirits and gods when they were babies, are apart of the billion-dollar sex industry. From the northeast, they come with as little as sixth grade education. The boys are expected to enter a Buddhist monastary for at least a few months to prepare their parents for their next life. Fatalistic, with no sense of a personal God, the Thai people, especially, though not exclusively, the poor and uneducated, are left with a faith that is reflected through myth and tradition.

The gods of the clients are equally fatalistic. Hedonistic, the rule is life is for the moment so eat, drink and be merry, for in the end we all die and if there is a God, He will sort it out later. Since all humanity is flawed, actions that are non-violent are merely a natural state not to be judged.

If people become like the gods they worship, what does this mean to the Christian? We obviously have a different set of rules based on a different concept of the One who created us. But if we are not careful, we can be transformed into the image of the world around us, instead of being transformed into the image of Christ.