How can I be a Christian in a Hindu family?
Question:
I am a strong believer in the Lord, but I am a Hindu. My teacher has told me that if one person believes in Him, the household would soon become believers as well. True enough, my parents have a Bible at home and they have bought for me a crucifix pendant of gold. However, they always tell me that they would hate me if I ever convert. This is very painful as I would love to go to the church every Sunday, but I have to do it secretly. As much as I would love to dedicate my Sundays to God, I hate the fact that I would have to lie to my parents, although it is for a good deed. I really do hope that things will change because the Lord has changed my life in many ways! Without him, life wouldn't have any use! Please pray for me so that things in my life will change, and I can openly live a Christian life. Thank you and may God bless you.
Answer:
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).
Sometimes a person has to make a choice and not all choices are easy. This why Jesus said, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26). Jesus is not talking about literal hatred for family, but about the relative difference between a Christian's love for God and his love for family. If there has to be a choice, the Christian chooses God, even if that means alienating family.
God cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and He demands the truth from his followers. You are not doing good by lying to your parents about going to church services. To do right, you must be brave enough to admit what you are doing. "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).
