In a class recently the idea that people do not attend churches because the members are hypocrites was mentioned. We can be defensive about the idea, we can ignore it or we can consider the possibility that these accusations are God's way of waking us up to the needs of others? What if he is using our culture to make us aware of our hollow, empty answers?
In his book, "What's So Amazing About Grace," Philip Yancey wrote, "Having spent time around 'sinners' and also around purported saints, I have a hunch why Jesus spent so much time with the former group: I think he preferred their company. Because the sinners were honest about themselves and had no pretense, Jesus could deal with them. In contrast, the saints put on airs, judged him, and sought to catch him in a moral trap. In the end it was the saints, not the sinners, who arrested him."
Maybe the Christian's view of outsiders should be more like that of Jesus, and Christians should condemn hypocrites the way he did: "They crush people with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden" Matthew 23:4.
Christians need to get a grip on what it means to follow Jesus and then convey that authentically to the world. One of the issues causing the divide is the demand for perfection in the life of anyone claiming to be Christian. This is not an accurate understanding of what it means to be Christian.
Christians fall into the trap of being called hypocrites because being a Christian is held to mean following a list of moral benchmarks coupled with a dose of judgmentalism.
An authentic Christian is simply someone who has made a decision to believe in Jesus as their forgiver and then attempt to follow him as their leader. But nowhere do we find a requirement for perfection or sinlessness.
Christians need to convey that to the world, authentically.
There will be disappointments with Christians as long as there are imperfect people. Since all Christians are imperfect, there will always be disappointments. Christians need to stop having the message of Jesus tied to their butchered efforts.
Too much emphasis is put on what Christians do on Sundays. Sunday is not the highpoint of the week it is the beginning of the week. We need to follow Jesus' instructions to the young man. On Sunday we should "Go and do likewise" as well as Paul's instructions to "present our body a living sacrifice." Authentically.
There is a divide between the neighborhood and the church.
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Regards,
John Jenkins
865-803-8179 cell
Gatlinburg, TN
Email: jrjenki@gmail.com
Website: http://www.greenbriersolutions.com
Blog: http://littlepigeon.blogspot.com/
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." Michelangelo
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