On Memorial Day, I stopped by my grandfather's grave to place some small flags. A new tradition for me to honor him as a veteran and to remember who he was to me. As I stood there watching the sun go down, I said a simple prayer that one day, in many ways I could be a cornerstone to my family and my community like he was.
It was then that God made it clear I had a ways to go. And I am not alone.
Many of God's children are flaky and frankly, flabby. They live lives that lack character and are excessive in nature. I was reminded that I too can be like this day in and day out if I am not careful. We all can get so wrapped up in “being religious” in what we do all while forgetting what being a real Christian means. Putting on the act of a believer won’t save one soul.
Let me share some real life examples - some are real people I know, others are ones I have heard of. All of this is shared in a way to, yes, protect the guilty.
How about the couple that sits on the front row of church, never missing a Sunday, with hands raised for every song? Yet, these same people have no desire to handle their kids properly when a guest at someone's home. Their kids are loud, rude and destroy the place and no apology is ever offered, much less any effort given to help clean up the place. Next Sunday, there they will be, in all their glory, hands raised high.
How about the lady that is at least 100 pounds overweight that proclaims she just "can't believe a Christian would drink wine or ever have a beer here! What a bad witness! Our bodies are the temple of God!" Saying this with bits of glazed frosting stuck to her outer lips while cramming a 7th hot donut in her mouth.
Or, how about the obnoxious know-it-all at church who quickly answers all class questions, dominates prayer request time, and suggests we bombard and bury the lost with the piles of scripture we should all have memorize, after all he has memorized the entire book of Numbers! On top of that these same people claim the lesson are not deep enough for them and complain loudly about how they aren’t being challenged. They have no idea how to extend grace and come down to the level of those around them that aren’t as spiritual as they are.
Best of all is the believer that runs around in their car with every Christian bumper sticker known to man on the back, most of which are crooked. They purposefully get in the fast lane and go 10 miles an hour under the speed limit, causing freeway pandaomonium and judging those that don’t obey every single law of the land like they do.
For decades now people (and I certainly include myself in the gang of the guilty) who call themselves "believers" have given their best late night show impressions to win over the world. And the shows range from the smallest church that baptizes one a decade, to the biggest church who might not baptize any at all.
Some claim they are closer to God because the never miss a Sunday, raise their hands higher or say their “Amens” louder. Many more have a nothing-is-ever-wrong, unreal attitude and can’t admit that they felt anger, sadness and doubt when they heard their loved one was terminally ill.
See, Jesus knew and taught, that it is not what you know or what you do that turns a person to Him. Rather it is who you are that makes the biggest difference. I don't recall reading in Speculations 1:1 anything calling us to being flaky and flabby. Yet, that appears to be the case more and more today. We are flaky and flabby, yet claim to be full of God.
I know people that appear to have it all in place. Yet, these same people take advantage of friends or family members. They might let their kids destroy a home while visiting someone else. Some spend more time in front of the TV a week than they do in being productive in other ways. Others are just terrible parents, or misuse their money and rarely tithe. They might not pay their debts, or they may cheat the IRS.
Some go as far as being lazy. Others are tardy everywhere they go. Many have bad attitudes, bad habits, and don't take care of the things God has given them, such as their cars, homes or yards. Hundreds more sit around expecting the government to help or believe "their boat is about to come in", when they can't even keep a job for more than a year. Many others cheat their company or bosses at work by being lazy, late or "sick” whenever they feel like it. (I know that one too well. Quick fact is many times we hire non-Christians more than we do believers).
What kind of witness are those things to a world that seems to care less and less about what we say? Does it really matter that our neighbors see us go to church on Sunday when our weeds are taking over their own yard? Does it matter than we have 300 scripture pictures in our cubes or on our desks and we can't even associate with a lost person at lunch? Does it matter that we blare Toby Mac with the windows down so everyone knows we don't listen to "that junk" on KISS FM? Does it really matter that we hand out 300 tracks the Friday night right after we snuck out of work early when our boss wasn't looking? I doubt it matters much at all.
Being a real Christian is simple. We just need to be the people that show Christ-like examples in everything we do, how we live, what we say, what we do and above all who we are. We don’t have to draw attention to ourselves, be obnoxious or put on a dog and pony show.
We just need to evoke this thought in others when our name is mentioned – “Now that was a person who had it all together and there was something very different about the way they lived life. I want to live my life like them. ” That’s being real and it’s what Jesus calls us to do.
So let’s cut out the flakiness and flab and agree to work on the following. Let's be people that...
* Really pray for others when we say we will....
* Do our taxes on time and be thankful we are Americans, and not Cubans.
* Keep our homes looking like we actually care and are thankful He has given us them! (Especially if we rent them, because they aren't even ours.)
* Tithe to our home churches - every time we get paid, and then give above the tithe too.
* Still have scheduled dates with our husband or wife and love them everyday, and not just on Valentine’s Day.
* If single, let’s remain dedicated to purity and high standards, though no one is watching and every other single person out there lives like those on “Friends”.
* Show up to work on time, is the best boss anyone has ever had, the best employee on staff and be-friends everyone we can, even those that say those bad words that we don't like.
* Make sure our kids are well-behaved through structure and discipline.
* Teach our kids values more by how we live rather than just by what we say.
* Respect others around us and treat their homes and possessions better than our own, especially when we are invited over or borrow something. Please, return it on time without being reminded.
* Are active in changing our communities, via being involved, serving and being politically active. (Christians are those that complain the loudest about our society, yet stats show only 40-50% of them vote when it comes time too!)
* Stand up for what is right and don't shy away from Jesus, even when it is not "politically correct" or popular to do so.
* Are good stewards with the income and money God has given us; saving for the unknown, investing for tomorrow and paying off those we owe.
* Take care of ourselves by watching what we eat and exercising more. Twinkies and donuts won’t lead people to Heaven, though we all pray hard they are IN heaven when we get there!
Quite simply put, being a real Christian is about living like Christ in every area of life - working hard, paying your taxes, saving for the future, having an attitude of joy and thankfulness in all situations, teaching values to kids, being a person of character and integrity, standing up for what is right, being dependable and on-time, witnessing to those around us in words and deeds, - all of this along with worshiping, praying and reading His word.
Our act is getting old and the world is doing nothing but mocking our show. We need to all build bridges and go over ourselves. We didn’t do anything to deserve the grace we’ve all been given. We simply owe it all to Him in return and others are counting on us.
So, get in shape, get it together, and please, be real.
“When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It's your life that must change, not your skin! And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire.” Matthew 3:7
© 2007 J. Brady
"I say it how I see it and I make no bones about it."
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