Mean Spirited Christianity

Galatians 5:22-26

New International Version (NIV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

1 Corinthians 13

New International Version (NIV)

¹ If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

A recent Facebook conversation with a friend was the basis of this blog. I had posted a quote I saw on a group page. The quote read "Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it. Right is right, even if no one is doing it." -Augustine- I thought is was a very inspiring, but not an extremely profound thought. I posted it and moved on without a thought, but then a friend replied in such a way that it struck up a conversation

Friend: But if everyone is doing it then is not Subsequently right? Wrong is only wrong if the consensus deems it as such. So if the consensus changes wrong can be redefined as right. And who determines right and wrong?

Me: Well that answer could vary. It depends on where you derive your value system from. Say you derive your value system from your family dynamic. Some families may believe that something is okay and others don't, so according to your family dynamic...it is wrong if that is the philosophy and belief in your family. For me personally, I believe my biggest value systems are derived from my faith and my family. If it's wrong according to God and/or my mama...it's wrong. I can generally decide whether I should or shouldn't do something based off of how I think God or my mama would respond. But I also know that when I choose to do wrong, I am also choosing to accept the consequences of my actions.

Friend: You are aware I'm gay, correct?

Me: lol yes, why do you ask?

Friend: Well your bible tells you I'm an abomination in gods eyes.

Me: My bible also tells me that love is the most important thing of all. And it tells me that Jesus rolled the streets with the folks no one else wanted to hang with because they were "bad" and "sinners". I don't have to like the idea of being gay, but that doesn't mean I love my gay friends any less (I actually have a heart for gay men...don't ask me why. I just love them to bits!). I'm no less of a sinner than you are. I make mistakes, I call people names, I get uncontrollably angry, I say bad words, those are all wrong and no more acceptable to God than your sexuality. Sin has no measure of greater than or less than, so I am in no position to judge. I love you for who you are as a person, not for your sexual preference. Just like you love me for who I am, not for what I believe in.

My friend then proceeded to tell me that his past experiences taught him, essentially, that Christians were unloving to "his kind". All his "Christian" friends he had before he came out suddenly ditched him and said they couldn't associate with someone like him (however they chose to use a derogatory term to define him.)

He stated that he always wondered how long it would take his current Christian friends to hit the door running because of who he is, once they were made aware. And I in turn explained that anyone who would do that is not really a friend or a Christian. We aren't called to turn people away or associate with only those that are like us. Who did we have to turn to when we were considered "outsiders" to the Church?

Church is not for saints, it's for sinners and the sanctified sinners need to be willing to love, respect, and reach out to the ones who are still lost. It is not my place to judge or condemn. To quote another friend of mine "No human has a heaven or hell to put me in." Which means that real Christians need to stop turning their noses up at everything and everyone and begin to show the true love of Christ. We have no place to put those that we judge so let's leave the judging up to God. If people can't see the Christ in you, than can you really say you are a CHRISTian? Christ didn't run from the ones who needed him. He embraced them and loved them to the detriment of his own name and character in the eyes of others.

There are 4 verses I feel will help sum this up nicely:

Luke 6:31

New International Version (NIV)

³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

2 Kings 2:2

New International Version (NIV)

² Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

Romans 12:10

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

John 15:13-15

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

As Christians we are obligated to treat others as we are selves desire to be treated, we are expected to be loyal, we are to put others above ourselves, and we need to be willing to lay our lives down for our friends. I personally don't derive that as meaning just our physical life being taken. I feel that God is also calling us to be willing to take a stand and show love to the ones that aren't like us and be willing to take a risk on our own names to do so.

I'd rather have the respect of a gay friend whom I've showed nothing but love and respect to and proven myself to be a Christian with a heart of God, than to gain the respect of a "Christian" who would be willing to turn that person away for the sake of saving face and feeling superior. My goal is not to win over people who are already in the church. It's to do something that would force someone to ask questions about why I'm different in hope that they would want to come. And even more so, in hopes that they would want to form a relationship with God.

I want them to know I have called them friend, because everything I've learned from my Father and big Brother (see blog: Big Brother is Watching) I have made known to them through my words and actions.