I haven't had a post in ages and thought this might be a good time to record a few thoughts which I felt would invoke much thinking. These are simple points but they carry much weight both in terms of truth and contemplation, hence the title.
For those who may not know, I have had a rough few months, especially in the workplace. I shall not give much detail about the experience (to spare you the agony of having to read these long stories) except that it was a truly trying period. However, upon listening to today's sermon, it became apparent to me that everything I have gone through is a necessary experience. It is only till now that I could piece everything together and make sense of it.
Note: The following points are not necessarily linked so they may end up seemingly random.
1) Practise what you preach.
Yes, its the grand-daddy of all cliches. There are many variants of it, such as: "Do what you say", "pot calling the kettle black", and so on. However, just think about it a little deeper and you'll begin to realize how words cannot express the sheer validity of such a statement.
This is the biggest gripe of non-believers out there today:
Christians are some of the biggest hypocrites they have seen.
In all honesty, I do not blame them at all. Well, I used to think the same thing too! But have we stopped to think why is this particularly so in the Christian realm? Interesting, isn't it? To see how this accusation is most commonly applied to Christians all over the world, yet we barely hear the same thing said about people from other religions.
One reason for this is because Christianity makes the some of the boldest claims among the other faiths. Here's one of the biggest claims: "Jesus is perfect, and therefore, he is able to die for our sins and redeem us."
Now imagine yourself to be a non-believer and reading this: you'd probably wouldn't buy it. And why's that? For one, most people have already subscribed to the belief that perfection does not exist in the world (especially in our post-modern era) that they have already dismissed the notion that Jesus was perfect, much less talk about existence of sin and redemption. How will one attempt to even justify Jesus' perfection when 'no one is perfect'?
Of course, there are many more examples to illustrate my point but the bottom line is: a faith with greater claims demand greater scrutiny. And that is one of the most crucial factors when considering why Christianity is subjected to greater persecution. It is because of this that Christianity tends to be challenged to a larger extent than most other faiths and that's causing people to cry out - that we are not living up to what we claim.
It's a sad truth but here's where the thin chasm between a Christian and a non-Christian lie: The inexhaustible ability to live out his faith without compromise but with congruence.
Essentially, if you claim to love another, then all the more it is important to demonstrate it; sometimes in the most unexpected or smallest ways. Of course, having said that, the claims of Christianity is undoubtedly difficult to live out but for the critics: do understand that in no way Christians claim to be perfect. Instead, we acknowledge that Jesus is indeed an embodiment of perfection itself and we want to strive to be more like Jesus. We will never be perfect, but we can be more and more like him. And if we fail in doing what we say to do, it is simply proof that we are ultimately still human and in the process of growth; and thus seek your forgiveness if we come across as hypocrites. This brings me to my next point...
2) Congruence is key.
Nobody likes someone who holds double standards, especially for a Christian. However, sometimes when a Christian fails to do something he or she is expected to do, at times under circumstances which may go unheard, they are accused by another Christian of being a bad testimony. Is this really the case?
Say for instance, a Christian is unable to attend bible study or even Sunday service for that matter due to work commitments or family commitments. Do we pass judgment upon, or even scorn in silence at him/her? Or do we celebrate and give thanks for the fact that one of our brothers/sisters is wholly committed to giving his/her best at the workplace and for the family, both of which are things that Christians are called to do? I believe we can sense the former taking place quite often while hardly ever noticing the latter; at best, we just shrug it off and say: "Oh well, he/she is busy, hopefully he/she shows up next time!"
So what's all that talk about living out the values that we are called to?
If a Christian does the things that demonstrate biblical values, sometimes even at a compromise of certain interests as illustrated above; yet receive no praise or encouragement and instead finds himself/herself being badmouthed in return, what will he/she think of the rest of the community? How can we be so shallow to say that these people do not have their priorities right for putting other things before church when these are the very things that God has impressed upon us to fulfill? How warped is that logic!
Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying that this is an excuse to condone the actions of people who perpetually avoid their responsibilities and repeatedly give excuses for themselves. I am saying that we need to look into our own actions, especially ones that are directed at others, and reflect on whether our words and actions are aligned with our thoughts and values; and whether we are sending the right message to other believers.
3) We MUST not marginalize non-believers.
I think this one's pretty obvious. Shockingly, not many believers have this mentality. Many believers tend to hold the conscious notion at the back of their heads that when they come across a non-believer, they have somewhat higher moral standards than the non-believer. However, this thought can come naturally with a conscious conjuring and admittedly, I have caught myself red-handed at times with these thoughts. However, it is important to understand that this mentality is complete ABSURD.
Speaking as a non-believer previously, I often looked down upon Christians largely because I had this idea that they saw themselves as 'better' than non-Christians. They seemed to have this need to only mix around with non-Christians and anything that a non-Christian said to them would always be considered as 'bad influence'. This is probably why you see quotes such as "Going to church doesn't necessarily make you a good person".
In all honesty, that is true. As a non-believer, what made me scorn Christians even more was the fact that I, as a non-believer, could exhibit better moral values and upbringing than they could. So if I, being a non-believer, could be a better person than you so-called Christians, people who claim to be of high moral standards, what does this show? It shows that Christians are even worse people than non-Christians!
It's a sad and harsh truth, and that is why all the more a paradigm shift in thinking is urgently needed. We, as Christians, must see ourselves in no way better than non-Christians for we are all sinners, in need of God's grace and mercy. The only difference should be the fact that Christians are willing to give up their lives for Jesus and to follow in his teachings while non-Christians (many prefer to call them pre-believers) are people equally in need of Christ but just have not gotten to know him yet.
You know, we could learn a lot from non-believers at times. Just ask around the more experienced church elders and Pastors, they'll have you know that some of the most important lessons on character were taught to them by non-believers!
Lesson: Reach out to non-believers with open arms and give ample weight to their opinions and thoughts. For all you know, you might get to know them at a much deeper level and they'll appreciate you for it. Regardless of whether you'll bring them to Christ or not, the least you could do is to bear a good testimony.
Writing up till this point, I've realized that I have so much more to write but perhaps I shall leave those thoughts for another day. Hopefully my thoughts have given you some insight, even if just a little, and helped you gain perspective, Christian or not.
I truly appreciate your support if you have read all the way to this point. Have a good week ahead and may God bless you in all that you do!
Cheers,
Matt
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