Why do I hear so often that Christians are so hypocritical and judgmental? Well I guess the easy answer to that is, because we are. Most of us, myself included. But why? Why, if we follow a God who has wiped away all of our wrongful/hurtful acts, can we not extend that mercy to others who have wronged or hurt us?
More than just wiping our the bad stuff, he has filled us with love and life! Why can we not extend that love and grace to others, so they their load my be lighter or their hearts refreshed?
My recent pondering has brought me to most of it is selfishness, and not wanting to consider others. We have miserably fallen into a trap of taking care of ourselves first and not wanting to even look around to see the others who are broken around us. (which is all of us)
Another big reasoning on my mind is our morality. We have made that an idol. Satan has cleverly twisted the wonderful truth, as he did many years ago in the garden. He wants us to forget the grace given to us and let us believe that we ourselves can achieve our own goodness. I mean what kind of people are God's people, if we just as immoral as the rest of the world, right? That is only a partial truth.
No, I don' think we should run into bed with our boyfriends, get drunk every night, steal from our friends, families, employers etc, or murder/gossip/slander others. What my point is, that these are good moral things to not to and even some of what Jesus has commanded us not to do, but why? Why does he want us to not murder others or talk behind others backs or even look scornfully on someone who is different? It's because of God's love for us, not just for morality's sake.
We are Christians are 'little Christs' running away with God's Spirit inside of us. We should be filled with God's love that it pours out of us to others. Of course, there are times to be mad and show it as Jesus did in the Temple with the Pharisees, and I think we err on the side of not doing that, to avoid confrontation, not out of love for others. (If you love your children, you don't withhold discipline when it's needed.) But my point is that Jesus was not involved in protests or frequent confrontations, he mostly just went and talked, shared his love with others.
Same as Saul/Paul. He was killing Christian, due to his zealous nature, until God stopped him. God showed him he was doing the dying on the wrong hill. He never fought again, although others fought with him. (sorry i'm digressing)
Back to my point about morality, I think that is leading us to be upstanding citizens and high ranking officials in our church and communities, but not connecting with God.
I feel like the American church has become a clique of "good" people who are trying to surround themselves with other "good" people so that they don't do bad things and can feel good about themselves for helping other "lowly, needy" people. We like to help others so that we can be thought highly of in our church or community, or so that we don't feel like we are so bad after all. We don't do it to be Jesus to other and to extend the love He has shown us.
I leave you with your thoughts, comments and excerpt from a book I'm reading...just food for thought. (it's not short but worth the read)
I was a guest on a radio show recently that was broadcast on a secular station, one of those conservative shows that paints Democrats as terrorists. The interviewer asked what I thought about the homosexuals who were trying to take over the country. I confess I was taken aback. I hadn't realized that homosexuals were trying to take over the country.
"Which homosexuals are trying to take over the country?" I asked
"You know," the interviewer began, "the ones who want to take over Congress and the Senate."
I paused for awhile. "Well," I said, "I've never met those guys and I don't know who they are. The only homosexuals I've met are very kind people, some of whom have been beaten up and spit on and harassed and, in fact, feel threatened by the religious right." Think about it. If you watch CNN all day and see extreme Muslims in the Middle East declaring war on America because they see us as immoral, and then you read the paper the next day to find the exact words spoken by evangelical leaders against the culture here in America, you'd be pretty scared. I've never heard of a homosexual
group trying to take over the world, or for that matter the House or the Senate, but I can point you to about fifty evangelical organizations who are trying to do exactly that. I don't know why. In my opinion, we should tell people about Jesus, not try to build some kind of temporary moral civilization here on earth. If you want that, move to Salt Lake City. "And what is the name of this homosexual group that is trying to take over America?" I asked the host, somewhat angry at his ignorant misuse of war rhetoric.
"Well, I hear about them all the time," he said, rather frustrated with me.
"If you hear about them all the time, what is the name of the organization?"
"Well, I don't know right now. But they are there."
"Can I list for you ten or so Christian organizations who are working to trying to get more Christians in the House and the Senate?" I said to the host.
"Listen, I get your point," he said.
"But I don't think you do. Here is my position: As a Christian, I believe Jesus wants to reach out to people who are lost and, yes, immoral-immoral just like you and I are immoral; and declaring war against them and stirring up your listeners to the point of anger and giving them the feeling that their country, their families, and their lifestyles are being threatened is only hurting what Jesus is trying to do. This isn't rocket science. If you declare war on somebody, you have to either handcuff them or kill them. That's the only way to win. But if you want them to be forgiven by Christ, if you want them to live eternally in heaven with Jesus, then you have to love them.
..To be honest, I think most Christians, and this guy was definitely a Christian, want to love people and obey God but feel they HAVE to wage a culture war. But this isn't the case at all. Remember, we are not elbowing for power in a lifeboat. God's kingdom isn't here on earth. And I believe you will find Jesus in the hearts of even the most militant Christians, moving them to love people, and it is only their egos, and the voice of Satan, that cause them to demean the lost. What we must do in these instances is listen to our consciences, and allow Scripture to instruct us about morality and methodology, not just morality.
...A moral message, a message of US vs THEM, overflowing in war rhetoric, never hindered the early message of grace, of repentance toward dead works and immorality in exchange for a love relationship with Christ. War rhetoric against people is not the methodology, not the sort of communication that came out of the mouth of Jesus or the mouths of any of His followers. In fact, even today, moralists who use war rhetoric will speak of right and wrong, and even some vague and angry god, but never Jesus. Listen closely, and I assure you, they will not talk about Jesus.
In my opinion, if you hate somebody because they are different from you, you'd best get on your knees and repent until you can say you love them, until you have gotten your soul right with Christ.
I can't say it clearly enough: If we are preaching morality without Christ, and using war rhetoric to communicate a battle mentality, we are fighting on Satan's side. This battle we are in is a battle against the principalities of darkness, not against people who are different from us. In war you shoot the enemy, not the hostage.
It is obvious when reading Scripture that what you and I commonly think of as morality is thin definition. Some Christians, when considering immorality in culture, consider two issues: abortion and gay marriage. Moral ideas presented in the New Testament, and even from the mouth of Christ, however, involve loving our neighbors, being one in the bond of peace, loving our enemies, taking care of our own business before we judge someone else, forgiving debts even a we have been forgiven, speaking the truth and love lest we sound like a clanging symbol (turn on Fox News to heat what clanging cymbals sound like), and protecting the beauty of sex and marriage.
Morality, then, become the bond, the glue that hold our families together, our communities together and our churches together, and most important, builds intimacy Christ. Morality, in the context of relationship with Jesus, becomes the voice of love to a confused community, the voice of reason and calm in a loud argument, the voice of life in a world of walking dead, the voice of Christ in a sea of self-hatred.
The trick Satan has played on us involving his spin on morality has not gone unnoticed by those outside the church.
In my opinion, if you hate somebody because they are different from you, you'd best get on your knees and repent until you can say you love them, until you have gotten your soul right with Christ.
I can't say it clearly enough: If we are preaching morality without Christ, and using war rhetoric to communicate a battle mentality, we are fighting on Satan's side. This battle we are in is a battle against the principalities of darkness, not against people who are different from us. In war you shoot the enemy, not the hostage.
It is obvious when reading Scripture that what you and I commonly think of as morality is thin definition. Some Christians, when considering immorality in culture, consider two issues: abortion and gay marriage. Moral ideas presented in the New Testament, and even from the mouth of Christ, however, involve loving our neighbors, being one in the bond of peace, loving our enemies, taking care of our own business before we judge someone else, forgiving debts even a we have been forgiven, speaking the truth and love lest we sound like a clanging symbol (turn on Fox News to heat what clanging cymbals sound like), and protecting the beauty of sex and marriage.
Morality, then, become the bond, the glue that hold our families together, our communities together and our churches together, and most important, builds intimacy Christ. Morality, in the context of relationship with Jesus, becomes the voice of love to a confused community, the voice of reason and calm in a loud argument, the voice of life in a world of walking dead, the voice of Christ in a sea of self-hatred.
The trick Satan has played on us involving his spin on morality has not gone unnoticed by those outside the church.
