What about the Church?

The Church doesn’t have a good reputation in society. Christians don’t as a general rule. And that would be okay if society found us offensive because we were preaching Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins.

Unfortunately, the truth is, Christians and the Church are often slammed as unloving, bigoted, legalistic, shallow, self-righteous, controlling, money-grubbing … need I go on? These are not the kinds of qualities people associated with Christ, and I suspect they aren’t ones He’s happy to see others connect with us.

Certainly there are exaggerations and some of these caricatures have developed as a result of false teachers claiming the name of Christ when in fact they are far from Him. But an honest assessment also says a lot of people who love God and believe in His Son Jesus still have spent most of their time and effort making life more comfortable and easier for … them and their families.

We teach the importance of family, don’t we? So what could be wrong with a dad or a mom who puts a high priority in making a safe and secure and nurturing environment for their loved ones?

Nothing’s wrong, it’s just that it’s not complete. How we’re to balance it all, I can’t say, but Scripture is clear that we are to look beyond ourselves. In the New Testament, believers are authorized to “make disciples.” We are told we are to be salt to the world, we are to be light in the darkness. And we are told others will know we are Christians by how we love each other.

What does salty living look like? The Old Testament gives us a window to understanding what God expects. In Isaiah, God rebukes His people:

Is this not the fast which I [the LORD] choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And to bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light will break out like the dawn.
– Isaiah 58:6-8a

I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people …
A people who continually provoke Me to My face …
Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
– Isaiah 65:2-5

I don’t know about you, but … ouch!

Those words sting me because I have been caught up in my own stuff for too long. How different would our culture look if we Christians took seriously our call to sacrificially love those we rub shoulders with day after day. If we carried our enemy’s bag an extra mile instead of playing the gotcha game. If we stopped walking to the opposite side of the road when sinners came along and realized instead that nothing separates me from them except the blood of Christ.

What if we all took the money we normally spend for Easter eggs or candy or new clothes or cards and did something selfless with it instead? What if there was so much giving in a time of recession the news media would have to cover it and viewers would be scratching their heads wondering why millions of us suddenly cared more for others than we did for ourselves. Now wouldn’t that shed some light?