Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."

This passage from the Holy Bible was made world famous by the movie “Pulp Fiction”. A great and powerful quote with very strong connotations for all God fearing people. It truly describes a path that all of us as humans should follow. And what happens when we don’t? We become people in dog-eat-dog world. Survival for the fittest. No place for the weak. Only the strong ones will survive. Ironically, it really sounds like the modern day life that we live in today.

In a world of humanity with great divides, and mercy is given to no one except in the name of charity, and thank God we still have people who do charity, otherwise many souls would be lost, either to crime, or to hunger. Both scenarios are ugly. No one wants to be in these shoes, but some of us are luckier or more fortunate than others to be born in the right place and the right time. So I guess, we should count our blessings. I know I’ve done that many a time.

But going back to the quote by Ezekiel. Who was he referring to when he said “I will strike down upon thee”?

I consider myself knowledgeable in the bible. These are not words of a God, as much as Ezekiel using the name of God as a means to an end. God in His great wisdom, never used a threatening tone with anyone. Jesus Christ never did either. Jesus never referred to God asking us to do something, while he always said “I tell thee” this or that. And this is where Ezekiel failed with his quote. He never had the same impact with words. Great Vengeance, Fury, and Anger; all human traits signifying vanity and jealousy to the point of no control. Not the most convincing of arguments for Gods who have all the power with very little need for recognition.

But I have to pay respect to Ezekiel, for being the righteous man that he is, a caring person who knows the meaning of charity coming from a very poor background himself. He actually predicted that our world will become a dog-eat-dog world, where the poor will have less and less to survive, and the way things are going, it will only get harder with all the technology and knowledge. People are moving faster and faster by the day, and the poor are being left behind, unable to catch up, and move up. Statistics can tell us that this is a true fact. The poor that are able to come out of their miserable lives are becoming less and less by the day. In short (that was long) he predicted that life will never be easy, and that charity in all its forms will always be a necessity to remind us that we are fortunate, and that we are humans. Righteous people should we choose to be so.