The desire to obtain the best things in life is human nature. As Christians, however, we are called to make a choice.
It is not surprising that in the regions of China where Christianity is growing, Communist Party members must profess atheism, and prospective Communist Party members must renounce religious beliefs. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
“Money” here should not be narrowly understood as the currency we use to buy and sell. In China, being a Communist Party member means power, perquisites and possibilities denied others. When I was in China, I witnessed my colleagues benefit from their Party memberships. A friend of mine joined the Party at age 18. Because of it, she was able to enroll in a prestigious university, in the 1970s, without taking any test; because she was a Party member, she was assigned a plush job at a government-run media company; because she was a Party member, her son was given all kinds of education and employment opportunities.
God never takes away the gifts He gives us; with the Communist Party, which claims to be the “Savior” of the Chinese people, it’s a whole different story. For many years, my brother worked very hard for a very low salary; Party membership was the only way for him to get a promotion and a pay raise. After struggling for years, he gave in, accepted to become a Communist Party member, and landed his current position – a manager in charge of a department with 200 staff members. For a couple of years, he was very well paid, but recently the Communist Party, arbitrarily, reduced his salary and that of others at managerial level.
Because of its undeniable impact on the possibilities for advancement and reaching a “better” standard of living, most Chinese struggle when faced with such pressures from the Communist Party, and understandably many, like my brother, give in. The desire to obtain the best things in life is human nature. As Christians, however, we are called to make a choice; “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21).
I taught at a university in China for almost 18 years; I was deprived of any opportunities for promotion or to further my education because I refused to become a prospective Communist Party member, even before I became a Christian. My resolve to not become involved in any way, shape or form with the Communist Party only grew as I felt the strong calling from Jesus. God, in turn, made a way for me: In China, I was let go by my employer when I tried to pursue my master degree; today, I am pursuing my doctoral degree in the U.S. God is indeed good!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Psalm 150:6)