Can I just admit to you that I'm quite a broken person. I miss the mark on a daily basis; I screw up constantly, just ask my wife-haha. But it's more than that. We all do! I sense that this world is crying out for authenticity everywhere it looks. We don't need to see someone who seems to have it all together, because A) We know you don't and that makes you fake: B) We can't relate to that at all.
Having worked in several churches throughout the past 9 years, I have seen the damage that can be done when a person or organization won't admit that it's flawed. The pathologies that are caused by that view of doing life or church is crushing. It can leave people shrouded in guilt, or worse, jaded by humanity.
What's worse is that when we become separatists in this thought pattern. Don't laugh, I'm dead serious I've seen this as a prevalent culture in the church for the most part. We start thinking that we, as church goers, have all the answers and that "They," nonbelievers are fallen and "we" need to save them. Nothing could be more judgmental or further from the truth!
The "they" and "we" mentality creates a divide that makes it impossible for Christ followers to relate to a broken world, because we refuse to admit that we are broken as well. We are ALL broken!!! How could we be so condemning as to look down on someone because we view them as fallen. That's spiritual bigotry and elitism! That's not who Jesus was, and that's not who we are called to be.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't live out your faith system, and if you feel compelled to share that, please do:) But how retarded is it to believe that we have anything to do with bringing people to Christ. In the Christian faith, The Holy Spirit reveals Himself to His people and it is God who saves people not us. If we disagree with that we are saying that God relies on us to carry out His will, and if you believe that, you are living a "Functional atheistic" philosophy, because you are totally disregarding a part of God that is relevant if you are a Christ follower. You are using God to promote your personal beliefs in that situation, and somehow you play a role in the Savior aspect of who He is.
I guess I just want people who follow Jesus to live like Jesus, and I want to be the first person to say that I'm a broken, fallen screw up. I'm the last person who is qualified to tell someone how to live:) If you are a follower of Christ and you feel like you have to wear this persona that makes you look giddy and perfect all the time, when in all actuality you are confused, hurting and hiding, please STOP covering up, because when we realize we are all fallen, we can start loving each other in a genuine way regardless of beliefs.
When we stop pretending to float on cloud nine and crash land into the reality of who we are, we can finally be free to chase after God. We're all in this together regardless of what you think, and this is the place where the fallen finally land, and our worlds start over again, only this time we walk side by side with each other seeking out who we were created to be, and we love and respect the walking partners we have. My advice: Just crash land for your own sake:)
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So many thoughts, but I just can't find the words! Love the post. Will surely be thinking on it for some time!
ReplyDeletegood thoughts Travis, I was just reading Job before I read your post and I remember how Job's friends spent all their time telling Job that he must be such a sinner to deserve what he was going through, instead of being there for him and comforting him, some friends.
ReplyDeleteThen God tells Job's friends 'My anger burns against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken the truth about me as my servant Job has...' Sometimes I think the people who seem to be most sinful are like Job and the Christians that try to condemn and judge them are like Jobs friends.
Good post! I watched Religulous last night and I loved that at one point Bill Maher says to a group of Christians he was interviewing, "thank you for being Christ like and not just Christian." There's a big difference. I know that some people may find that movie offensive, but I thought it was good and is worth checking out.
ReplyDeleteAnything, regardless of if we believe it or not, that makes us think about following Christ is worth watching. I have seen Religulous, and of course I have some things I disagree with, but the part you are talking about is true, and it definitely challenged me to be open in how I am viewed as a Chrsit follower-Good point:)
ReplyDeleteJoel, great comment about Job bro, I still need to give you a call man-haha.
Kristin, thanks for the encouragement:)
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ReplyDelete-I was accidently signed in under the malones, so that last comment that was deleted was from me, not them.
ReplyDelete-Good post travis, but I have to disagree a little. 2 things stood out to me:
1) I have to say that I think we do have something to do with people coming to Christ. While we are not necessary for salvation, we do play an important role. I think that God chose us as vehicles of His message. After all, He did commission us to ACTIVELY share our faith. If we didn't play an important role, why would He command us to share? It seems like that would be endless futility. I don't believe one of the greatest commands of our Lord was to give us "busy work." The Spirit is the ultimate one who draws people, but we still play a part.
2) I think we need to be careful by ascribing a non-judgmental attitude to Christ. He was all about love, but He was definetly judgmental as well. I think the temple cleansing and confrontation with the sanhedrin testify to that. I don't think that gives us a license to be judgmental, but I believe it is necessary to not just sit back and let the world be. When Christ saw sin, he confronted it and gave forth the truth. We are called to the same. To sit back and not proclaim righteousness because of fear of being judgment would be an atrocity.
I do agree with you though that we should approach the world with a "fallen" mentality. We are no better than anyone, but we know something they don't and we need to let them know.
Good post Micah,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that we not only are called to Christ but He did commision us to share Him with the world. That can be done ina variety of different ways. I think sharing faith is Biblical, but I also believe that that means we can actively live out our faith in a non busy work status.
I also agree that Jesus did judge, and He had that authority. We do not. Does it mean that we condone what we perceive to be wrong? Absolutely not, but we had better approach those times with an epistomological humility, because a hundred years from now we will be dead wrong about something that we are just dead set that is right in the here and now. God sums up our calling in one statement:
Love Him, love others-summarized of course-haha.
I hope this doesn't come across as harsh because honestly, Micah, I could be, absolutely, totally, wrong about everything-haha. I'm definitely not a scholar nor am I a spotless man.
I loved the thoughts it realy got me thinking:)
Oooh, good stuff here! I promise to check back a little later. I am in agreement with Micah....but need to gather more thoughts and be able to sit down after there aren't kids awake distracting me. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't had time yet to sit down and type my thoughts but I promise to....as soon as I have a free moment. In the mean time, I found the following excerpt on gotquestions.org and found it said a lot of what I'd like to share....only it was already typed out. lol.......it's the "busy mom of 2 kids under 3" syndrome. I will share my own thoughts soon..
ReplyDelete"What does the Bible mean that we are not to judge others?"
Answer: This is an issue that has confused many people. On one hand, we are commanded by the Lord Jesus, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1). On the other hand, the Bible also exhorts us to beware of evildoers and false prophets and to avoid those who practice all kinds of evil. How are we to discern who these people are if we do not make some kind of judgment about them?
Christians are often accused of "judging" whenever they speak out against a sinful activity. However, that is not the meaning of the Scripture verses that state, "Do not judge." There is a righteous kind of judgment we are supposed to exercise—with careful discernment (John 7:24). When Jesus told us not to judge (Matthew 7:1), He was telling us not to judge hypocritically. Matthew 7:2-5 declares, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." What Jesus was condemning here was hypocritical, self-righteous judgments of others.
In Matthew 7:2-5, Jesus warns against judging someone else for his sin when you yourself are sinning even worse. That is the kind of judging Jesus commanded us not to do. If a believer sees another believer sinning, it is his Christian duty to lovingly and respectfully confront the person with his sin (Matthew 18:15-17). This is not judging, but rather pointing out the truth in hope—and with the ultimate goal—of bringing repentance in the other person (James 5:20) and restoration to the fellowship. We are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We are to proclaim what God's Word says about sin. 2 Timothy 4:2 instructs us, "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction." We are to "judge" sin, but always with the goal of presenting the solution for sin and its consequences—the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).