A Call to Christians to Stop Being Perfect
We will be hated.
That’s what Jesus told us, we will be hated
because of Him. And it’s not hard to see why, what with the humanistic dogma
infiltrating much of society coupled with antagonistic mentalities towards
anyone who claims that there is one truth, and one truth only.
In this sort of relativistic world, what
non-believer would want to hear that they are broken and not capable of saving
themselves? That their choices in life can lead them to damnation should they
not choose to focus their life on the One who created it?
The Church and church culture are facing an
uphill battle, in part I believe of the perpetuation of Christianity as a part
of good society, rather than following Him who is good.
It may sound odd, but I am much more suspicious
of a Christian that I meet within church gathering settings than I am of a
nonbeliever, or someone I interact with outside the church.
(note: Church refers to the body of Christ as a
whole, whilst church refers to one specific congregation)
I know it’s strange, I’ve never been hurt by
someone pretending to be a saint (although I know those who have), perhaps it’s
because a good portion of my life we didn’t go to church regularly and so I
spiritually grew independently without a connection to a particular group.
I prefer to not exude an overly sunny
disposition, particularly an insincere one, so perhaps it’s why I mistrust
small talk exchanges during the “welcome” part of service, when we greet each
other in our Sunday best with neat hair and honeysuckle smiles (I’m from the
South if that didn’t clue you in).
I’m not saying we should not appear our best at
church, I think it’s respectful, or that we shouldn’t be pleasant to one
another. But perhaps we shouldn’t work so hard to seem all together, with our
ducks in a row and following us down the straight and narrow path to Jesus.
It’s been ingrained in our society that
Christians/church goers are holier-than-thou and are nicer and cleaner than any
non-Sunday-going heathen will ever be. That’s why when events like the Ashley
Madison leak occur, you see countless stories about the vocal Christians being
caught; it’s a “gotcha” moment that secularist revel in.
Because for too long, churches, particularly
American, Bible Belt churches, have been saying “I’m good, I’ve got Jesus”.
Maybe, then, we should say, “I’m broken, but
it’s OK, I’ve got Jesus”
So rather than presenting ourselves as
all-together, and everything is good, maybe we should introduce ourselves more
honestly,
“Hi, I’m an apathetic over-thinker with an amazing ability to hold grudges, but I’ve got Jesus so we’re working on that.”
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