Christians Should Be Known By Their Love and Humility
…not their politics, judgmentalism, or ideology
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I’ve defended Christians. A lot. And on this very platform.
What’s more, I consider myself to be one. Not just a Christian in the demographic sense, but I genuinely strive to be a Christ follower.
And I’m a Christ follower (imperfect work-in-progress, of course) who reads, studies and believes in the Bible.
I guess that makes me an evangelical…as classically defined.
But…
Christians often drive me crazy.
They drive me crazy with their pride, judgmentalism, self-righteousness, inconsistencies, anti-intellectualism, outbursts of rage and anger, bigotry, misogyny, and more.
No, not all Christians are guilty of these offenses. I would argue that the majority of Christians I know personally aren’t guilty of these things (at least not most of the time). But…
Enough are guilty of these transgressions that they have (to use a business term) tarnished our brand.
More to the point, they’ve tarnished Christ’s brand.
Therefore, when I defend Christians from the attacks often leveled against them, it’s not without some sympathy (at least at times) for those making the attacks.
For most of America’s history, self-identified Christians were in the solid majority. They dominated virtually all levels and corners of society. Not anymore. The number of people who identify as Christian is plummeting.
There are multiple reasons for this, but one of them is that Christians are (by their words, attitudes, and actions) turning a lot of people off.
This is not to suggest that winning public approval should be the primary aim of those who identify with Christ. On the contrary, Christians should (by definition) seek to follow Christ — and gain His approval.
That means we will sometimes hold to positions or ideas that run counter to societal trends. We will…
