How Everyman presents the idea about Religion and Hypocrisy - Essay Example

How “Everyman” presents the idea about Religion and Hypocrisy Religion plays a very important role in the lives of human beings. Most people from different religious backgrounds such as Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu rely on religion mainly for guidance in life. Almost all human beings living on earth focus on religion as a way of communicating and come close to the creator, God. People value and consider religion as important because it assists us understand various things in the world and about life.

Religion helps us have a slight idea about our origin and about how we should always live our lives. It also helps us know how the world came into existence. Additionally, religion assists us to have idea about what happens after life. Even though we are unable to see God, religion makes us believe in our hearts that He exists and observes everything we do all the time, wherever we go. Due to religion, most people believe that we live our lives in order appease God by trying to make it good since he will approve the manner in which we lived our lives.

Through living in the will of God, according to gospel, we believe that He will enable us have eternal life. This makes religion to appear very important to man since no one would prefer going to hell to having eternal life. The writer of “Everyman” discusses the ideas on religion and hypocrisy in his article. In the story, at the beginning, the messenger assures us that we might be relaxed about our sins at the period they take place, and we can also enjoy our earthly wealth not knowing that all these will come to pass in the day of reckoning (2121).

As the story continues, the messenger explains that when we die, our good deeds and sins are taken with us in grave. However, he says that it is good that our good deeds overcome our sins in order to face God with a little hope in the Day of Judgment. The good deeds we had are the only ones that determine our eternity. God’s character reveals to us that the story is about Christian beliefs since God is presented as Jesus, being hanged on the cross. Everyman’s character presents a real example of hypocrisy.

In the outside view, he appears to have everything. For instance, he had a family, wealth, beauty, knowledge and strength. His state is admirable and is the kind of life most people wish to have. However, despite of the good life he lives, he has a lot of sins that makes it hard for him to look through and find the good deeds he has done. Even though everyman had everything anyone would wish for in life, he concentrated much in pleasures of the earth than in doing good things that would please God.

Religion is therefore, a very important in our lives because it plays a vital role. It enables us understand how life should be lived on earth. However, we always pay little attention to such guidelines leading us to sin. The author of the story, “Everyman” discusses the topics of hypocrisy and religion and further helps the readers to know the importance of living good live with clean heart. Work cited Lawall, Sarah N., and Maynard Mack. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 100-1500. Second ed. Vol. B.

New York: Norton, 2002. Print.