Hypocrisy

One of the most famous statements made by ministers about hypocrites is that when someone complains about the church being full of them, the minister simply replies, "Come join us, because one more hypocrite isn't gonna hurt". I grew up with this saying, and I believed it. Now the more I think about it, I feel like its being used as a cop out.

The more I'm around non Christians and read non Christian articles about religion the more I realize that most people have no problem with Christ. Jesus Christ is pretty well accepted in the secular world, because of who he is. People usually don't complain about what Christ did for us, they usually complain about the Christian church and Christians.

Why is this? Because they have every reason to see us as misrepresenting Christ. Now I'm not saying that we're gonna get it right every time, but what I am saying is that I think we have been too passive. We need to strive to move forward and not be satisfied with where the church is and where our individual Christian lives are.

And yes ladies and gentlemen, the Church does get it right. Sometimes.

When I went on a mission trip to Slidell, LA, I felt like we represented God in the best way we knew how: grabbing hammers and nails and cleaning out houses. That's exactly what Jesus would have wanted us to do, there was no question about it. There were no politics involved, no deep theological arguments, no discussion, this is what Jesus wanted us to do. And we did it. People who lived in Slidell, LA finally got to see what the church is supposed to look like: a community of believers pitching in to represent their God in the best way they knew how.

Sometimes I feel like the church has lost the point and we get way too wrapped up in what the Bible says, who's wrong, who's right, and how 'busy' our lives are. But that's not what we are called to be, because we are called to represent Christ in all that we do. Non Christian people wouldn't call us hypocrites without reason.

The biggest danger of Christianity is the Church when we misrepresent Christ. I'm not saying that we're gonna get it right all the time, but that's something we need to seek and strive for. No more cop outs, let's take responsibility for this. Let's strive to do everything within our power to stop the hypocrite argument and not give them reasons to point fingers.

Can't we just represent Christ and forget the politics? Isn't that what we're supposed to do? Is it that impossible?