It's probably obvious that I earned all my accolades due to my take on the Supreme Court ruling concerning homosexual marriage. Well, actually it was my take on the Christian response to the ruling that I was seeing that did it. Funny thing...I didn't get any adverse remarks from any of my homosexual friends about my opinion. But some of my Christian friends...their best effort to [mis]quote the Bible and to be offensive was swiftly delivered. Needless to say the exposure of the lukewarm was met with major resistance.
If I can be a tad narcissistic (I mean, y'all talk 12 selfies a day so lemme get mine in), those cats have been dying to fry me. Why? Because I'm not really bought in to this "cool Christian" thing. To me it seems like those type of folks try too hard to be accepted by the "world" with their "I can still [insert vice here] and still be Saved". And while that thought is somewhat true to a degree, I feel it's a little disrespectful to Christ. Believe it or not though, it's a real movement. You got Erica Campbell making the baffling smash hit "I Luh God" and tagging the song with her new genre Trap Gospel. You got the ultimate show of vanity in churches holding "Selfie-Sundays." You got memes such as I love Jesus..and trap music - which essentially says I love Jesus but I also equally love the music that reflects illegal drug distribution and use; in which there are details of the actual instances of the drug culture that has destroyed real families for several decades and is also what countless mothers have prayed to be removed from their trappin' and/or snortin' sons. I could but won't go on.
The paradoxical nature of this is evident, but what does this say about the state of modern Christianity? Are those things isolated incidents or is there a more watered-down Christianity forming? Is acceptance being confused with assimilation? Are Christians forgoing the charge of delivering the Gospel to avoid the assumption of being judgmental? Do we...deep down...just wanna be like everyone else?
I believe these questions can begin to be answered with first examining the selfish nature associated with living a life for Christ after Salvation. It's widely known and true that after confessing Jesus Christ as your personal Savior from sin, you've saved from eternal damnation and have been accepted to eternal life with God. That fact is so overwhelmingly joyous that we really could stop right there...and most of us do...even though Jesus commands us in Matthew 28:19-20 not to. Instead, we
are charged with helping others experience the same grace we have, and this is where things get a little murky.
Many Believers came to accept Christ not because someone scolded us for being sinful, but because someone told us we were sinful while using the right methods. They implemented skills such as active listening, empathy, and understanding to gently verbalize to us there is a better way to live; an intended way that first starts with believing in Christ. They lovingly explained (and demonstrated) to us that real success isn't based on uplifting money, status, or things; that true happiness isn't in the pleasures that athletes, artists, brands, and corporations promote. And because of their words and corresponding actions, it helped lead us to believe. But we've lost that approach and instead have mistaken the idea of 'come to Christ as you are' for 'stay as you are with Christ'...which is also a lie (2 Corinthians 5:17). What happened?
Several things I'm sure...and I would think that some of (if not all of) the reasons come from a prolonged insecurity about who we feel we are. Just an assumption here, but many of us stop being as hungry for Jesus after being Saved (or after receiving that promotion, or item, or mate). This frequently leads to Believers not being as aggressive in brushing up on all of the tools that go with living a Jesus-centered life. Subsequently, with our knowledge still on toddler-status, we tend to rest our faith in biblical principles that popular norms have already distorted...with one of the more famous being "only God can judge."
Therefore, being convinced that we are still sinners, we have a tendency to not view ourselves as former sinners saved by Jesus' grace, but current sinners just like our friends and family members...hence, assuming compromise and morphing into the cool Christian. In an effort not to appear to be "holier than thou", we can get as intoxicated or more intoxicated than the non-believer does on the same or more potent substance. We can sleep with as many men or women than the man or women who hasn't even considered Jesus. Or maybe we don't go that far, but at the least...which arguably is worse...we can think like them and can talk like them (re: meme 'Guess who loves the Lord but will still cuss you out'). Unfortunately, doing all of this has wiped our minds clean of the ability to reason, show concern, and graciously redirect someone who hasn't gotten the gift that will save their life. We would rather allow that another person...a person we say we adore...to be with Satan eternally than to appear rigid or prudish in their eyes. Sadly, we have forgotten how to love.
Be sure to know however, that for Believers in Jesus sin is always expressed in past terms in scripture (Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13). This does not allow you the right to look down on anyone, but it does equip you to help that person live their intended Godly life of promise. This most always will require you give up some what you believe makes you you to reach others. But consider this, if Ephesians 5:25 says "Jesus loved the church and gave Himself for," which we understand to be physical abuse and death, can you really say you love anyone that you won't give up anything for? Are we really helping a evil world by accepting and acting evil? If that's the case, then we've gotten ministry and love completely wrong.
Peace
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