Saturday, July 9, 2011

Christians Forget Jesus' Lessons

“Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to hear my laws. You would almost think this was a righteous nation that would never abandon its God. They love to make a show of coming to me and asking me to take action on their behalf.” -- Isaiah 58:2

We are a religious nation. A Christian nation. Oh, everybody has the freedom to worship however they choose, but Christians are the majority. Here is the Deep South, the second question everyone asks someone new is “What church do you go to?” (The first is whether you support Alabama or Auburn football.)

We’re real quick to tell others what they should believe. It doesn’t matter whether we attend church regularly or not. It doesn’t matter if we ever read that Bible we proudly display. We know how things are supposed to be done and we’re quick to argue about it with anyone.

Too bad we aren’t so quick to get along with other people, including other Christians. There are thousands of churches and more denominations than I could ever count. All claim to follow Jesus. And most are filled with people certain that their way of doing things is better and more accurate than anyone else’s.

Some of the most hateful and hurtful comments I hear come from Christians. They condemn illegal immigrants. They’re angry at medical insurance reforms. They’re furious about social programs. They don’t offer any solutions, just plenty of criticism.

I’m not sure where they get their hard hearts but surely not from Jesus. Jesus cared about the poor. He fed them and welcomed them. He healed the sick, whether they were rich or poor. He shared meals with tax collectors and prostitutes. We forget that the apostles weren’t gathered from the aristocracy. We don’t want to think about that.

Sometimes Christians are so busy being right, so being protecting their own self-interests and bank accounts, that we forget exactly what Jesus taught. That’s scary. So many issues deserve to have Jesus’ healing touch but we’re too focused on ourselves to see it. That’s a sad truth that should speak to all of us.