Christian Frustration

Most people know that the word, “Christian”, actually means, “Christ-like”. And if you didn’t then you learned something within the first sentence. You win! But if you did then you probably already know where this is heading.

Quick test – The people that are around you that aren’t believers (people that make no argument against the fact that they aren’t Christians)…Are you thinking of them? Have you got their faces in your mind? What do you think they think of you? No, don’t quit reading just yet, please! What do they think of you?

            Here is the way this usually goes. “Well we don’t believe the same so we don’t get along.” Or, “I don’t talk to them because the bible says that I’m supposed to be separated from them.” Or, my all time fav, “The Spirit of God is so strong on me that they won’t even come around me because of conviction!”

            That last one you have to kinda use your preacher voice or it loses effect. Go ahead; try reading it again with your best Southern Baptist Pentecostal growling voice and pronounce God like “Gawd”. You did, didn’t you? You smiled too.

            But back to the point at hand. I think we should be more like Jesus when it comes to non-believers. First, we shouldn’t expect them to act like Christians (like Christ) when most of our believer friends don’t. That’s one thing I have tried my best to stop doing. We shouldn’t hold non-believers to a standard that we aren’t willing to hold each other to and sometimes we don’t even live up to that standard ourselves.

            There are times when I think the term “hypocrite” fits us more than we want to admit. And I’m guilty also. Look at it this way. How many people have forwarded emails, reposted Facebook statuses, and even argued the point that prayer should be put back in schools? Now, how many of us have actually prayed today? A show of hands please? Get’em up high. I see a few but not sure we have full participation. We could probably make the same illustration out of the Ten Commandments being hung in public offices.

            Before you go typing a reply in all caps to me, I want you to understand that I am for prayer in school and Moses’ top ten being hung in any public office but that isn’t the point. The point is this; We Christians are trying to police a lost world while not policing ourselves. The term, Above the Law, comes to mind. We are trying to enforce God’s Law on people that aren’t citizens of God’s Kingdom.

            What about evangelism, what about preaching the Gospel, what about testifying? It is all necessary and all warranted. But, what about living a Holy life? Shouldn’t a man oversee his own house before trying to stick his nose in someone else’s? What about love and grace and mercy?

            Here’s a thought for this week. What if we tried to apply just one scripture to our lives every day for a week? Not asking for much but here it is and you can decide.

Colossians 4:6 NIV

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Every conversation. Secret. Public. Angry. Loving. Sad. Hurt. Happy. Even under your breath. Every conversation; full of grace and seasonsed with salt. Try it for a week. It can’t hurt anything. And you may find your life is more at peace. And, and, and you may find you have open doors to share your story of God's grace in your life.

Pastor Dad