Have you ever seen someone standing on the side of the road or in the middle of a public space, shouting something along the lines of, “Repent or you’re going to hell!”? Extra points if they have a megaphone or are waving a sign. I saw this almost every day in college. Appropriately named, the Bell Hall Preacher camped outside the university’s highest-traffic building to condemn us to eternal fire.
Sometimes he addressed all of us, sometimes he targeted individuals–once, he yelled at a guy for wearing a pink shirt. “Man, everything gets you to hell these days,” we would think. On nice days, some of us joined the crowd and watched the show. Some of us argued. But most of us ignored him or scurried away hoping he wouldn’t notice our pink shirts.
People like this really make you want to give Jesus a try, right?
THOSE Christians
There are no shortage of media reports or personal stories to fuel the flames of dislike towards Christians.
There’s the Gossiping Christian. This is one I experienced very often throughout college. I always felt like there was a transformation that took place in the parking lot between the church and the car. Like a light switch flipping on, or like a facade dropping. When the car turned on so did the gossip. What so-and-so did on Friday, who was secretly dating whom. Trash talk.
Then there’s the Anti-Science Christian. The Christian that rejects anything scientific that doesn’t fit their beliefs. The people with whom it’s nearly impossible to hold a conversation with. For example, I was recently told by a fellow Christian, Don’t worry about quarantine or wearing a mask. God will protect you from COVID-19 no matter what. Another, less deadly remark came from one of my students: dinosaurs are mythical creatures. Just smile and nod on that one.
And then there’s the Christian that thinks they’re qualified to “fix” you just because they’re holding a Bible. Assuming they understand your situation and can point out what exactly is wrong with you, like a doctor.
And I won’t even get started on Christians pushing their agendas in politics.
The Distanced Christians
With all this, it’s no wonder there are many online communities whose focus is on hating Christians. And it’s not just non-believers, Christians too, are distancing themselves from other Christians. They don’t want to be associated with the term “Christian,” “Christianity,” or the church. Rather, they refer to themselves as “spiritual,” “believers,” or “followers of Jesus.” It saves a headache in most social situations. It’s easier to call yourself “spiritual” than risk being lumped in with the aggressive, intolerant, anti-science Christian category by calling yourself a “Christian.” You won’t even have the chance to clear your name, because at a social gathering, nobody wants to get into it.
Personally, I still call myself a Christian, but I’ve had friends and family try to convince me to distance myself. My sister, who would call other Christians ‘crazy freaks’ to my face, feared what I would become, legitimate worry was always in her eyes.
“So you aren’t really a Christian right? You’re agnostic.”
“No, I’m Christian.”
“Yeah, but…” And another reason why I should distance myself always followed. Could I blame her? Time and time again, I would respond with, “No, I’m not that kind of Christian,” but I realized that I couldn’t actually tell her what I was…only what I was not.
Another thing I realized was that I was probably the main character of someone else’s story of a bad Christian. The truth is, it’s not just the gossiping, the anti-science, political, or hypocritical Christian. It’s not just the Christians who stand in public spaces or make the news…it’s you and me too, because we’ve all fallen short. We’re all hypocrites.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
We spend so much time focusing on the external things–actions that don’t put Christianity in a good light. We spend so much time saying we aren’t that kind of Christian but so little time talking about what kind of Christian we are.
The Right Kind of Christian
So this brings up the question: what kind of Christian should we be? What is it that God and Jesus would like us to strive to become? By definition, a Christian is a follower of Christ. Not someone who makes up their own rules about how to live and how to do things, but a follower. Like an obedient sheep to its shepherd.
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
John 14:23
When I became Christian, that was the day I showed my intent of having a relationship with God and Jesus. That’s something internal that has nothing to do with others and everything to do with me. Nothing to do with the shouts of the Bell Hall Preacher, but with the “me” on the inside. Outwardly, I could be a kind person, likeable, not at all like those Christians. But regardless of that, what if God still hadn’t made his home within me?
The fact that I couldn’t explain to my sister what kind of Christian I was, was proof enough to me that I didn’t really know Jesus’ teachings as written in the Bible nor was I obeying them. Rather, I based my life of faith and identity on the actions of other Christians.
I want God to love me. And I want him to make his home with me. I should have been learning what Jesus said as written in the Bible so that I could obey (or at least try to). And so that I could be confident about who I was as a believer. But so much time and effort has been wasted worrying more about my reputation as a Christian rather than the basics of my relationship with God.
What about you? What kind of Christian are you? Have you been focused on following Christ according to his teachings in the Bible? Or have you also gotten caught up in the physical things?
Let’s not let the outside things distract us from what is most important. Following Christ. By following Christ, he leads us to God, and by obeying God and Jesus, we will receive salvation. And isn’t that the whole point to begin with?
By following Christ and his teachings in the Bible, we wouldn’t have to worry about what others say or think about us. Because we know we are obeying what God and Jesus have asked us to do. And in doing that, we can be proud to be called a follower of Christ, a Christian.
Written by Samantha
If you’re curious about what else you could and should be doing as a Christian, you can also check out these articles:
A Faith God Considers As Righteous
Do You Love God in the Way He Wants to Be Loved?
Does Questioning My Faith Make Me A Bad Christian?
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