Heaven

I got this poem in an e-mail and found it to be very interesting, especially given my unique take on religion. So, I thought I’d share it with you and let it resonate with you for awhile before I give in my two cents. Enjoy:

I was shocked, confused, bewildered as I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all, Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven who made me sputter and gasp–
The thieves, the liars, the sinners, the alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade who swiped my lunch money, twice!
Next to him was my old neighbor who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, “What’s the deal? I would love to hear Your take.
How’d all these sinners get up here? God must’ve made a mistake!

And why’s everyone so quiet, So somber – give me a clue.”
“Hush, child,” He said, “they’re all in shock. No one thought they’d be seeing you.”

This poem just goes to show you that just because you think everyone else is not as “heaven-worthy” or religious or good as you does not mean you deserve any better than they. People practice their religion in all different ways, and the contradiction in all of the Bibles and religious writings perfectly exemplify that no one way is right.

Just because you say prayers or go to church or temple does not make you the ideal mortal. No one is perfect. In addition, no matter what people believe, it can be considered a religion, even if to them their God is a squirrel and their place of worship is the forest.

People sometimes (almost always) fail to realize this. And this is one of the major problems society faces today – intolerance and misunderstanding of others, especially when it comes down to religion. Everyone is so protective of their own beliefs but they prosecute and look down on those who believe differently.

Someone said to me the other day that all Muslims are terrorists. What a stupid thing to say. Generalizations to begin with are always wrong – but this is like saying all Protestants are KKK or something similar. Every religious group to ever exist has had some history of violence. You might be thinking this comment came from someone that is naive and young and sheltered; rather, it came from a grown person of strong Catholic faith. People wonder why we have so many wars and why hatred has not yet been erased from the human faith. This is one reason.

So take this poem and remember your actions are just as strong as your words in how you live your life, and in the determination of your being heaven- or hell-bound. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.