Mean Christians

As I have been processing why Christians treat other Christians so poorly, I have come up with a few observations. I would like to share these observations with you. You can take them or leave them, but please give them consideration.

First of all many who call themselves Christians are not truly Christians at all. To quote Chuck Jones’ comment on my Facebook post, “Going to church does not make you a Christian anymore then standing is a garage makes you a car”. Being a Christian is to be a follower of Christ and Christ ALONE! Many who go to church are simply keeping up appearances. Many church goers go to church because it makes them feel good and they believe it makes them look good to others. A large amount of churches have become nothing but the equivalent to the country clubs of the 50’s and 60’s. These churches have become nothing but a place for social gatherings and various clubs to meet. Please do not misunderstand, Christians need fellowship with other Christ Followers, but gathering together should not only be about growth in relationship with each other, but more importantly about growth in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I believe with ALL my heart that there is ONE and ONLY ONE way to God! It is only through a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus that we are allowed access to God. We are not allowed access to God because we have heard of Jesus or even because we believe in Jesus. Access is through relationship alone. Many, even Satan, know and believe in Jesus, but because there is no relationship with Him, there will be NO eternal life with Him. So that being said, being a Christian in simple terms is an individual who has a relationship with Jesus Christ, through which the individual is allowed access to God and granted an eternity in God’s presence.

I fear that over time we fall away from relationship and into works. We start to spend so much time doing the work of God that we neglect the relationship. We get so busy doing for God that we have left no time for Christ. The bible states in James 2:26, “Faith without works is dead”, but in retrospect works without relationship is in vain. If we are focused on the relationship the work will come naturally. Making much of you, making much of God equals self righteousness. Isaiah 42:6 states that we are called to righteousness, NOT SELF righteousness. If too much time is spent in doing the works of God without enough time spent in relationship with Jesus, our human sinful nature is to become not righteous, but self righteous.

We all have been born into a sinful world, filled with a sinful nature, and separated from God. The only thing that makes Christians different from anyone else in the world is that Christians have accepted the gift God has given them in Jesus.

We as Christians are called to judge one another, but we are called to do so ONLY in LOVE. We are not called to judge out of self righteousness. When we are aware of another Christ Follower who is doing things that may be harmful to their relationship with Christ we are to pull them aside and lovingly tell them our concerns. Not because we are better than them or without sin ourselves, but because we TRULY care about the path they are choosing and the effects their choices will have on their relationship with Jesus Christ. Ultimately we all have free will and they have the choice to listen to your concerns or ignore your observations. In this we are not called to discuss the sins of others even with fellow Followers. This would be gossip and harmful. Not only harmful to the individual being discussed, but also harmful to the cause of Christ. When we gossip we turn what we believe to be someone else’s sin into our own sin.

One of the most obvious observations I have made is that Christians put unrealistic expectations on other Christians. When the other Christians are not capable of meeting these expectations, we become disappointed. As Christians we also have a tendency to put unrealistic expectations on ourselves and once again become disappointed. In truth all Christians are simply sinners saved by God’s grace and we need to extend that same grace to others that God has given to us. We as Christians often treat non Christians better than our brothers and sisters in Christ; because we feel Christians should know better. We must take into consideration that just because we or they may know better, we or they may not always chose the best choice. We are all still SINNERS! We as Christians just have knowledge of how to overcome sin and should always be striving to move forward in our RELATIONHSHIP with Christ!

Now let’s add the desire of people to push their own agendas and the fact that we want things the way we want them. This is true even in the church. Christianity isn’t ministry and Christ on our terms; the terms are all set by Christ. After all Christ isn’t asking to follow us, Christians claim to be choosing to follow Christ. In our selfish sinful nature we lash out and become defensive when we do not get our own way. So when we don’t get to have our own way in the church or even in Christ’s will for us the easiest place to lash out is at the church or other Christians.

All this being said, I believe the purest and most truthful reason Christians are mean to one another is that it is easier to point out the sin in others lives then DEAL WITH THE SIN IN OUR OWN!!!! It is easier to rip someone else apart then truly look into ourselves and see the wretchedness hiding inside. Being a Christian does not give us the right to tear each other down; we are supposed to build each other up. Christ wants us to fall broken before Him so He can rebuild us perfect, not in each other’s standards, but in RELATIONSHIP with Him. We will not be perfect until we are with Him in eternity. Our hope is not in this lifetime, our hope is in eternity.

I can’t take responsibility for the relationship, decisions or actions of those around me who call themselves Christians. All I can do is pray that I’m being the example and representation of HIM that He has chosen me to be. “Many have been called, but few have been chosen”, Matthew 22:14.



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