Does God want you to be rich? Yes, say some mega-churches. Others call it heresy. The debate over the new gospel of wealth. Time Magazine even did a cover story on the debate in 2006.

Therein lies the conundrum of life. The mystery of eternity exists in the above. The puzzle of your existence resides in the foregoing. Notwithstanding, the desire of unity, teamwork, agreement and the statement one can chase a thousand and two can put ten thousand to flight, the matter of Christianity is a singular relationship and personal commitment.

You must find and define truth by yourself. You are solely responsible for your eternal destiny. The way to heaven is straight and narrow with no wiggle room to the left or right.

You are on your own.

The debate rages on about homosexuality, gay marriage, abortion and abortion rights. There are good Christian people on either side of the equation. There are faithful soldiers in each camp.

Everyone has an opinion of what is right for your life.

Everyone argues that he or she knows the right road to travel.

Each church or denomination believes that they have the inside track with God to the exclusion of all others. The others are all wrong, hellish and demonic and if you follow them you will end up in hell, they assert. The Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Presberyterians, Jehovah's witnesses, Seventh day adventists are all throwing their hats in the arena of ideas, vying for your affection and loyalty.

So many voices, so many thoughts; how do you navigate through so many different mazes.

Whose side do you end up on?

Whose report do you believe?

Whose argument do you accept?

Every man, woman, boy or girl must answer that question alone. This is a one-time test and you must be right. Pass or fail, heaven or hell, joy or sorrow, life or death, victory or defeat are in your hands. Furthermore, you have a limited amount of time to make this solitary momentous decision.

You are on your own.

People, priests, pastors will try to dissuade or persuade you. They will seek to convince or convict you of their position. Since they know they are right and all others are wrong, they will attempt to bend you to their will. If you refuse and decline to see it their way, they will alienate and ostracize you. You will be considered clueless, out of touch, lazy and stupid.

You are on your own.

There is a certain measure of comfort, peace of mind and assurance in being accepted as part of the crowd. Nobody likes feeling like an outsider.

There is a cost if you step off or rock the boat. The temptation is strong and very appealing to give in, give up and follow them.

You are on your own.

They may quote words and statistics. They will twist or interpret scriptures to endorse their opinions. They will offer up evidence, logical and emotional to contort and influence gullible audiences. They see the world through the prism of their experiences and understanding. This has worked for them and it must work for you.

You are on your own.

Finally, after being flooded with news, ideas, evidence and information, you deny your individuality. You neglect your uniqueness and immerse yourself in the prevailing opinion of the day.

You forget to read your Bible. You do not study your instructions to be self-equipped.

You cannot discern truth from error.

You do not remember that you follow them if they are following God.

There is no group policy or insurance in the kingdom of God. It is only individual coverage purchased with the blood.

Therefore, you fail to foster, nurture, develop and maintain your own specific personal connection with God.

So, here you are standing before the judgment seat. You are sweating bullets because you have just been asked an intriguing question. "Why did you listen to them instead of hearing me?" You look around for help for somebody to blame. Surely one of those genuine, knowledgeable persuasive persons will come to your aid. You wait for what seems like an eternity. Yet, the judgment dock remains empty with you as the sole witness and defendant in your case.

Then, to your horror, you finally realize what you should have learnt years ago, as He says with pity in his voice and sorrow on his face.

"There is no one else to reply. This matter is solely between you and I. Did you not search the scriptures to discover the truth,did you not pray and seek my Spirit for help if you were confused? Or were you more concerned with pleasing them than coming into agreement with me? Did you forget about my warning about dying once, then judgement. Do you not recall my admonition about disregarding those who can destroy the body but rather, fear me, the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell?"

Then with the thundering sound as of many cascading waters you hear for the final time.

"YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN."

V. Knowles is a husband and father with an interest in penning issues that serve to uplift mankind. He melds his love for Classic literature, The Bible and pop culture - as sordid as it may be - into highly relatable columns of truth, faith and justice. Hence the name: Just Thinking. If he's not buried in a book or penning his next column, you may find him pinned to his sectional watching a good old Country and Western flick.