Hatred
When someone is asked what they think of when they hear the word “Christian” what do you think they say? Type it in a search engine and see. Go ahead, I’ll wait. To me some responses seem skewed one way or the other and by that I mean I can tell when it is a Christian answering or a non-Christian answering. The Christians respond with answers like “family” ,”Church goer” and one I found said, “I think ‘a person that knows Jesus Christ as his Savior…a follower of Christ’…someone you can trust or count on…someone who sincerely cares about people other than himself.” Clearly he is unbiased, end sarcasm. To his credit this is a good answer to what a Christian SHOULD be, but they are not necessarily known for it. I find it hard to believe the people saying the good things are objective, and I know the non-Christians probably have an agenda but the honest non self serving answers should be noted. Some of the more negative responses were: “Judgmental”, “loud, arrogant, bigoted … who threatens everyone with hellfire if they don’t believe and think exactly as he does”, “bible thumping hypocrite, arrogant, self righteous, conceited, ignorant”, “Crooks and liars”, “anti-homosexual”, “sheltered” and “too political” to name a few. A good reference for this topic is the book “Unchristian” if you want to know more, but for now I’m going to mostly rant off the top of my head. These criticisms are harsh and biting, but why do they have these strong opinions about Christians? My hunch is that they know some. Or at least people calling themselves Christians. Personally I don’t feel particularly worthy of attaching Christ’s name to my own most of the time. I also think it is interesting that Christ said “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35. Are the descriptors spewed by these polled pointing out the love for one another? Or are they subtly pointing out that the people they think of when they think of “Christians” aren’t really Christians at all? If they were, they would be known by love. In this passage it says “one another” but I don’t think we are showing the world love for them or each other. I can hear some Christians whipping their Bible out so fast it’ll make you wonder if they have a holster. They justify this hatred by quoting, “Matthew 10:22 “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” I really have a hard time believing Jesus said “love one another, take care of the poor, stand up for justice and people will be severely ticked at you.” Jesus made a lot of people mad, obviously because they killed Him, but I don’t think it’s because of his feeding the multitudes and healing the sick and touching the untouchables. He challenged their religion and their hearts. He changed their ideas of what it was like to please God. They thought if they followed rules to the letter, God would be happy with them. Jesus turned that idea on its head. He said it was their hearts God was concerned about. What was inside not outside. Not what they pretended but what they were really feeling. Jesus did a lot of things to get himself killed and I am utterly grateful, but I don’t think a lot of His teachings are going to make non-Christians hate us like this. The things they mention against us even go against the bibles teachings. (Matthew 7:1, Romans 12:3, Galatians 3:28, James 1:23,24, etc) I truly don’t believe Christ’s teaching on how to treat others is going to conjure up this much hatred. Matthew 10:22 is used by others to justify them acting how they want and being hated. I want to challenge this. Try to act like you know you should with a right heart and see what happens. Challenge the religious mindset and see what happens. I am not perfect by any means, but I have been trying to treat people how I would like to be treated and I am getting love in return. I am challenging religion left and right and I am getting very angry reactions. Again I am not saying I have it all together, on the contrary, my life has been shattered but it has become something even more wonderful even though it hurts. A great quote puts it this way ”All around you people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don’t tiptoe.“
What are the reasons Christians are hated? The one that comes to mind is that they are righteous. Maybe some would say self righteous. I looked up the meaning to self righteous and it said “confident of one’s own righteousness, esp. when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others.” I read that and thought it was quite similar to some Christians I’ve known and that saddens me. We should be confident only in Christ’s righteousness because we have none. It seems we’ve taken His righteousness for our own and we’ve had it so long we forget it’s not ours. He gave it to us so we wouldn’t have to burn like the dirty rotten sinners we are. I think some of the Christians of the older persuasion have grown so accustom to being righteous that they forget they are still sinners saved by grace. I know I haven’t forgotten. I know righteousness is important but I think some are unbalanced. We should be holy as God is Holy, but some take it too far. Just as some take it too far when they say “God is love!” and stay unbalanced. We have two sides of the same God and it seems we fight over which one is the real God. Could we argue that a hand is a human? Or the foot? They are parts. God is righteous and God is love. He is not all one and none of the other. Just as the head and tails of a coin are both parts of the same coin. People see “Christian” public figures and are disgusted at how they try to push their righteousness on everyone else. Or condemn those who aren’t acting the way they say they are supposed to. Are we really surprised? When we see people acting horrible? Were we so different before we were saved? Why are we surprised that a non Christian acts like a non Christian? Dr. Laura Schlessinger the radio talk show host often says “Would you get mad at an alligator if it bit you?” It’s an alligator so you expect it to bite you. Why get mad at something when it shows its true nature, especially when you know its true nature? Whose fault is it when Christians are angry at non-Christians because they are acting like non-Christians. I digress. I’ve heard Christians talk about the hippies and that movement and get angry because that is not God to them. “God can’t be love, not like that. God can only be love to people like me. God is righteous.” God is love and God is righteous. They are both right and both wrong. God loves people but can’t love the sin. We must truly be Gods ambassadors and show them Gods love before we show them the righteousness. They won’t listen to someone that says they have to get right and then God will love them unconditionally. That makes no sense. Show them the love of God and God will give them His righteousness.
So what did Christ mean when He said we will be hated because of Him? To me it seems Christians have gotten away from the rebel that our Savior was to follow the quiet, conservative, don’t rock the boat kind of Jesus we find in the Bible. But wait. Everything our Savior did seems wild, crazy and so-not normal. His first miracle was making 120 gallons of wine! How many church goers would approve of such nonsense? Jesus! Keep your miracles to yourself! He spits in a guys eye and makes him see! He breaks the religious rules of his day left and right! He works on the Sabbath! He causes church people to want to throw Him off a cliff! He has people plotting to murder Him! He shuts up the people who try to trip Him up with a clever philosophical answer! He forgives whores when they should be stoned! He tells a thief that he is going to be the first Christian! He tells the Jews that he comes for the poor and the woman, the gentiles and the wretched! He goes beyond the teachings of love your neighbor and teaches the unthinkable “Love your enemies”! Jesus was anything but quiet. He rocked the boat all the time. He was a rebel and a trouble maker. It seems some Christians have high jacked Jesus to make Him into a likeness they can stomach. Creating God in their own image. I want to stir up trouble. I want to be like Jesus. I DO NOT want to tiptoe. I want to be known for being wild and crazy and for loving unconditionally. If I’m hated because I call myself a Christian but act like I’m anything but something is wrong. If I’m hated because I challenge the norms for the sake of wanting a more authentic Christianity then so be it. Again I am not saying I have arrived, but I’d rather be on the right road then walking down my own path.
Think about how you act around Christians and why, especially when in a church setting. Why do we have to watch how we say certain things or do certain things when around church people? Because we know people will gossip? Because we know they might judge us? Because word might get around that so-and-so said such and such? Why is this so? I know some churches are the exception, but when we can’t be honest with each other and just be ourselves with one another I think there is something wrong. Non-Christians don’t want to go to a place where they think everyone judges them, or thinks they are better than them, or they have to believe like everyone else does. What kind of environment is that? Please listen to my heart and realize I want a change for the better. I am not attacking anyone or accusing anyone of anything, I am challenging people who do give reasons for people to hate them. Ask yourself why. Is it because you are following Jesus and His teachings or is it because you are following your own version of the gospel?
