"Christianity"

“Your love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me.” Christians all over sing these and other words of worship as they sit in church on Sunday morning or meet with their youth groups on Wednesday nights. They sing of a God who loves each and every individual unconditionally. They practice a religion that follows the sacred teachings of the Bible, a book that always has a place on their nightstands. Hearing all of these things that they do, you’d think Christians would be beloved by everyone inside and outside of the faith, right? I’m sad to say that this just isn’t true. Too many Christians sing of this indescribable love they receive from God but show none to others in their daily lives. Too many Christians talk a great game about their faith but fail to practice what they preach. Identifying as one myself, I know firsthand that Christians have developed a negative reputation because of these shortfalls. And this is why Christians are in dire need of a reality check and some major changes.

Now, I know many of you aren’t Christians, and that’s awesome, but I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. I’m sure you’ve heard the hate and hypocrisy that is spewed from the mouths of so-called Christians on too often a basis. No matter what your religious beliefs happen to be, I’m sure you’ve heard of this little group called the Westboro Baptist Church. Claiming to be Christians, they’ve drawn media attention for their extremist views, most commonly picketing military funerals and public events, wielding signs that read things like, “Thank God for dead soldiers” and the infamous “God hates Fags”. Just this past weekend they’ve sparked even more controversy. According to the Examiner, “On Saturday, Dec. 15, Shirley-Phelps Roper announced that the church would picket Sandy Hook Elementary School on Sunday with the following tweet: ‘Westboro will picket Sandy Hook Elementary School to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment’. It’s people like this that give Christians a terrible reputation. Too many “Christians” use their religious views and the bible as a weapon for tearing down others who don’t share their beliefs. And it makes us look like hypocrites.

But it’s not just well-known, extremist displays like this that make people view Christians in a negative way. In our own school, we have a huge problem, and it’s no secret. A large number of Henry Clay students participate in a Christian oriented organization throughout the week and then go party on the weekends. Now, I’m not trying to throw these people under the bus, and I’m not trying to make judgments about a group of people, but rather point out that I, a Christian, clearly see this coming from my Christian brothers and sisters, and it hurts my heart. If I can see the discontinuity in behavior of these students, surely those outside of the Christian faith can as well. And that can’t do any good for the reputation of Christians. But I can’t stop there. I look at myself and see imperfections and I know that I don’t live up to the life that my religious beliefs make me want to live.

“I can honestly say that I’d rather go to hell than live the hypocritical life I see so many Christians living.” D. B. from Seattle wrote this in response to a blog post asking non-Christians to post something that they wish all Christians could read. S. P. from Nashville wrote, “When did it become that being a Christian meant being an intolerant, hateful bigot?” As a Christian, hearing these words hurts. And I hope that if you share my beliefs, you’re affected in the same way I am by the reality of these statements. I hope that if you’ve sat through this speech thinking to yourself, ‘That’s not me!’ or ‘I’m not like them!’, you understand that these statements aren’t just about groups like the Westboro Baptist Church, but about Christians as a whole.

So where do we go from here? Yeah, it sucks hearing this, especially if you’re a Christian, but it doesn’t have to be this way. No, we can’t stop the behavior of groups like the WBC, but we can try to show others that that’s not what being a Christian is all about. In his part of the book titled Unchristian, Gabe Lyons writes, “It comes down to this: We must become Christlike again.” My fellow Christians, that perfectly sums it up. We have to start loving others regardless of their religion, age, sex, race, appearance, sexual orientation, or other factor that makes them no less of a human than we are. We have to start living up to the name “Christian” not only when we sit in the pews at church but also in our everyday lives. When we walk into school, we want others to be able to say, “Look! There’s that Christian, Adam!” not in a sarcastic tone because of our hypocrisy but in a tone of respect because of our true Christian lifestyles. The only way we can change the negative opinions and the unfavorable reputation that we have earned is to first change ourselves.

Imagine a group of people who actually acted like Christ. That is what I believe we can become.