As the righteous sit in a pew and send their desires and needs up to their creator, heathens lay asleep in wait for the Raiders game and a cold beverage. There is one thing that sets these groups apart: their actions in everyday life that show their morals and values.

Any person can pray but it takes a truly compassionate and understanding human being to try to answer the prayers of another. Spending an hour in a building one day a week doesn’t constitute whether or not you are a person of respectable actions. Remarkably, those who fervently attend services at a church, temple or synagogue are just as full of fault and shame, if not more so, than your secular everyman.

This is not an attack on religion. For many, a structured system of belief can be a driving force in life that keeps a person full of hope and happiness. To find true support in any spiritual deity can bring a sense of fulfillment that would otherwise be absent from a person’s life. It is the part time believers that raise concern.

There is a misconception that going to a religious service somehow balances all of the shameful actions in a persons life; that once you walk out of those church doors, the teachings of that day’s sermon can be put to the side to make room for uninhibited, carefree living. It ends up that many times, those religious followers that press their ideals and beliefs on others end up having more skeletons in the closet than anybody in the room. But because they have accepted the word of God, Allah, whomever, they are put into a new class of humans that is wiped clean of their faults.

That Sunday morning is only a part of actively following the beliefs of a religion. It’s the way you treat the world and people around you that gets you a key to the pearly gates. Anyone can live a Heaven-approved life as long as there are basic standards met.

The way you treat your fellow man is what truly matters. Showing respect and compassion to those around you proves that there is more in your world than your personal wants. A baptism or profession of faith isn’t needed necessarily. Sometimes, these things are more of a problem than an aid.

There are a large number of religious worshippers who have a sense of superiority about them. They feel that since they listen to the words of Jesus, they’re a step ahead of the masses. Simply by giving God the same amount of time they give to Dancing With The Stars, they get an eternal existence of peace and happiness.

Don’t worry; they don’t really get those things. Assuming there is a Heaven, it would take a lifetime of good works and considerate actions to get inside, not just labeling oneself as a follower. Anyone can have water poured on them or have some oil put on their forehead.

It’s not your faith or creed that makes you a good person. It’s the way you treat the world around you. Implementing solid values in your life makes more of a difference than trying to get others to share these values. When you can live a good lifestyle filled with empathy and compassion, you achieve what religious teachings and common courtesy set before you.