"Nice" Christians versus "real" Christians. Ever heard of this match off? I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't. It's quite a provoking topic to self-proclaimed Christians, so we tend to not talk about it lest we offend someone (you'll see the irony here after you're done reading this). Nonetheless, I'm diving in and sticking with this nagging in my heart to write about it.
First, how to define "nice?"
Dictionary.com lists three definitions for nice. Two of them fit here:
1. pleasing; agreeable; delightful
2. amiably pleasant; kind
Nice Christians are the Christians that always smile; are always pleasing and delightful. They're the ones who always want to make everyone feel comfortable in their presence. Rarely will you see them trying to teach a non-believer in the counterintuitive (next post) ways of Christ and thus Christianity because that would mean they'd step out of the bounds of "amiably pleasant." They wouldn't be seen as polite anymore. These Christians like to say that it doesn't matter if they convict anyone in their ways—that their actions and subtle beliefs will lead others to faith in Christ and everything will work out alright.
You've seen them everywhere. Their ultimate leaders tend to be prosperity and health preachers that don't talk about much else.
Then there's reality: the definition Christ set for His followers wrapped in one verse (although you could quote many more).
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it," (Matthew 16:24-25 NLT).
When a "nice" Christian says they're just staying on the fence so they can help others over to Heaven, Satan rightfully says the fence actually belongs to him. Among many tweets focusing on this "fence" subject, here's one I found hours after finishing this article:
The tragedy is that so many Christians today are "nice" Christians, and they really don't recognize that being "nice," being everyone's friend or being in the middle, is prohibiting Jesus from working among other side effects. Just like King David became an obstacle to God and Israel's growth when he went after his desires (committed adultery with a married woman, Bathsheba, and then killed her husband when he found he got her pregnant), we "nice" Christians who would rather not stand up for God's Word because we care about the person we're talking to and where they'll be for eternity, become an obstacle. A major one.
See, when Christ said to take up your cross and follow Him, He meant forget "fitting in." Forget "feeling comfortable." Understand that because of His name, you will be ridiculed.
Some would disagree and say Jesus was a nice guy. After all, He coined the phrase don't judge lest you be judged (Luke 6:37).
That's called self-interpretation. The Bible should always interpret the Bible. So in that instance, Jesus didn't mean: "Hey, don't judge the girl who barely wears clothes. Who are you to label her? Leave her be. She's fine. Go about your own business." He meant: "Hey, don't judge her. I'm about to die for you and her. I love you both equally. Rather than calling yourself better than her and running the other direction when she comes your way, why don't you go and show her how much more attractive a pure spirit is? Show her what would lead her to godly men, not driven boys. I made her for more. Go show her what that "more" means."
I've analyzed plenty of statistics on why my generation doesn't like Christianity (unChristian by David Kinnaman). Surprisingly, the question isn't whether God exists or the historical verification of Jesus as some like to point out, but it's why should they follow Christianity when there are so many hypocritical Christians. They define "hypocritical" not just as those who don't "walk the talk," but also as those who just don't talk about their faith or at least stand up for it. Non-believers definitely see through the facade of squeaky clean church attendance to the weak faith of millions of western culture's Christians.
What a wasted life!
We are not called to be "nice" Christians. We are called to be radical, just like the fearless disciples were. They gave up their lives spreading the Gospel with a depth of love that was so new people called them freaks (fulfilling Matthew 16:24-25 literally as a side note here)! They knew Who they followed. They knew He held the power over everything.
Because they knew Christ, were stirred by His grandeur strength, they wanted to tell everyone. They didn't care if their business shut down because of their obvious faith. Why?
"To live is Christ, to die (to riches) is gain."
They didn't care if they lost rights because of their obvious faith. Why?
"To live is Christ, to die (to acceptance in social circles) is gain."
They didn't care if they died because of their obvious faith. Why?
"To live is Christ, to die (literally) is gain."
Why didn't they care?
"To live is Christ, to die is gain." The very essence of their lives was Christ. They lived for Him, by Him, because of Him, to Him, near Him, etcetera.
They were real. They knew who they were, and in Whom they were in.
Therefore, why be nice, pleasing to all and worried about if you'll be accepted, when Christ's coming is neigh? Why be nice when sitting on the fence makes you more of an obstacle to Christ, and a stumbling block to those trying to look into the faith?
Love like you're not scared
Give when it's not fair
Live life for another, Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones,
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle, Stand tall but above it all
Fix your eyes on Jesus
-for King & Country
Joshua 24:15 asks us who will we serve?Jesus or ourselves? What will we spend time to nurture more? Our faith or our ego?
It seems being a "nice" Christian isn't enough. You're either all in, or you're not at all in. It seems I'm not the only one who thinks so. This is my blog's most active tweet:
Don't make Jesus spit you out. Choose to be a real Christian rather than a nice one. And understand that by "real," I don't mean be rude and arrogant about your belief. I mean be the hands and feet of Christ. That should be enough to tell you to be a little Christ to those you meet.
Stand firm in your beliefs, and live them out.
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