February 17, 2018

Look in the Mirror

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” – Matthew 7:21-23

Hatred. It permeates our society, on every level, in every heart. We point fingers at others, all the while ignoring the hypocrisy in our own hearts. We are part of the problem.

Christians should be the most loving people around. We should be the first to forgive, the first to do good, the first to speak kindness in this dark world. Just the opposite is true. We loudly proclaim our hatred for “liberals” and “gays” and “immigrants.” We declare exactly who and what Jesus hates, calling our hard hearts justified.

Except Jesus was never about hate. God loved us so much that He sent His Son to save us. Did Jesus ever get angry? Of course, He did – at the Pharisees and others who believed themselves to be better than the common sinners of the day.

Do we all sin? Absolutely. Is sin wrong? Without a doubt. But nowhere in the Bible does it say that Christians have the right to judge others. In fact, the Bible tells us to NOT judge others. Somehow, we don’t think it means us.

I’m not someone who believes the fairy tale some pastors preach. While God does want good for us, He never said we’d get a reward on this earth. In fact, Jesus told us to expect difficulties. We don’t like difficulties. We don’t want to suffer for our faith. And we surely don’t want to show anyone who isn’t like us grace and mercy.

Jesus loved people where they were. He didn’t hate illegal immigrants. He didn’t paint them with a brush that said “lazy,” “worthless,” or “unwanted.” Does it excuse their actions for coming into this country illegally? No. It doesn’t. But anyone who rejects them and hates them doesn’t have Jesus in his heart.

What about those of different religions? Do we reject and condemn them for not believing as we do? Jesus welcomed everyone, be they Samaritans or Gentiles or Jews. He came to save everyone. He never pushed away those who believed differently because He knew that drawing them closer with love and acceptance was the better way to change their soul.

We feel threatened by those who are different so we push them away and call it “our opinion.” Hatred spews from our mouths and then we loudly cry for help when violence once against shows up in our schools. We don’t consider what we are teaching, what we are showing the innocents with out actions and our words.

Do you want to stop the hatred and violence that lives around us? Look in the mirror. Check your words before you speak. Is it true? Is it kind? Is it something that Jesus would say? Stop wearing the Christian badge and acting like you live for Him when your life carries the message of hate to a hurting world. Change yourself first and let God’s light change the world.