If Christianity is so wonderful, why are some Christians such jerks?
Good question.
I know people who’ve been put off from Christianity mainly because of some “Christians” they’ve met.
They see people say really dumb things and attribute it to their Christian faith.
They watch believers being hateful toward someone who believes differently from them.
They hear preachers use a Bible to beat down people who don’t measure up to a level of perfection they themselves cannot attain.
Their conclusion is that one “Jesus Jerk” disproves the claims of Christianity.
But when it comes to all the people using the word “Christian”, I’m reminded of the words of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride:
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
My girls go to classes at a local arts academy. They go to weekly rehearsals and then put on a big show at the end. It’s fun to watch, but honestly some kids do better than others. A bit of it may be inherited talent, but the difference in their individual skills usually comes down to one thing…
Discipline.
Theatre Arts are a discipline. You work on your songs, your dancing, and your acting and eventually you get better at the craft. But if you just call yourself “a performer” but ignore the work, you won’t be any good no matter what you call yourself.
Same thing goes for Christianity.
Lots of people call themselves Christians. But many fewer actually show up at church, and fewer than that study their Bibles and then pray fervently that God would teach then how to live out what they’ve learned. The day-to-day living it out is what takes discipline. You deny what is comfortable to become something greater than what you are.
Becoming a Christian is not just a one-time transformation. It’s also a process.
So if you know a consistently lousy human being who calls himself a Christian, you can bet he’s not putting in the hard work consistently that it takes to follow Christ. Jesus warned that to follow Him meant to “die to self”. It’s actually a painful process and very frustrating at times.
There are days I feel it’s a victory if I just don’t kill anyone, not to mention being like Jesus!
It’s great that anyone can become a Christian, no matter their past. But when there’s no entrance exam or background check before joining, some members of the club are going to be pretty rough around the edges. God doesn’t wait for us to clean up our spiritual “”bad credit before He accepts us. He takes us all where we’re at and begins moving us toward who we need to be.
But the discipline makes all the difference. Talk is cheap, but commitment, sacrifice, and cooperating with the process is what makes you more like Jesus.
So cut people some slack when you notice them not measuring up. Being like Jesus is a pretty high bar to reach. And odds are you’re not reaching it yourself either. When it comes to following Jesus, none of us live up to what we believe in!
We’re all hypocrites. Every christian consistently falls short. But what a wonderful goal to fall short of!
