My friends Brittany and Dennis are both committed to Jesus in the way you'd hope lots of Christians are committed to Jesus -- in displaying kindness and gentleness, love and joy, patience and goodness to the world. They aren't committed to Jesus in the ways some of my sisters and brothers believe you have to be committed to Jesus -- by making a public confession of intellectual assent in the doctrines of Christian faith.
That is to say, Brittany and Dennis would never tell you they're Christians. They haven't -- for lots of reasons, both intellectual and spiritual -- been able to put their names on the dotted line.
But they have -- and do! -- put their lives to the way of the Spirit in all the ways that Jesus talks about following him as disciples.
Granted, they wouldn't put things just that way. I do. But that's because I've been taught to see God at work in others' lives in a way that our culture really doesn't focus on learning to see.
Like Brittany and Dennis, I really don't get how you can call yourself "Christian" -- with every box of intellectual assent ticked about every doctrine -- when you're basically a jerk. How can you be "Christian" and treat others like trash? How can you claim to be Christian and be unkind -- aggressive, rude, dismissive, haughty, intimidating, selfish?
This isn't a question that should be so easily dismissed by my sisters and brothers who, along with me, claim to follow Jesus.
Dennis and his wife sat with my wife and I over dinner about a year ago. We'd driven to Nashville to meet with them. As we sat at dinner in a random bar in Nashville, we formulated a summary of Jesus' teaching that was very clear and direct: "Don't be a dick".
Some of us Christians, if we're being honest, are just that. Dicks.
I get to hear all kinds of debates in my daily life about what's wrong with Christianity. And lots of those debates actually have merit. But why isn't this one -- that some Christians are some of the biggest assholes -- The Debate that gains the most traction in the Christian community? Why is it that our lack of kindness toward others and with others doesn't get the most attention among ourselves?
That debate comes down to this: That our confession and our lifestyle is very out of sync. Something's wrong here, and we're choosing to ignore it. Why?
I think it's because we have notions of "being Christian" that don't make more out of the fruit of the Spirit.
If you want to be passionate about the Christian faith, be passionate about the Fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Make those virtues the central content of "being Christian". Make sure they're the first thing you do when you roll over to hit the snooze button and the last thing you do when your head hits the pillow. Do not -- not even for one minute -- let them slip out of your mind. Let those virtues discipline everything you do and say and think. Let the Fruit of the Spirit be your daily passion.
What if we held the Fruit of the Spirit up as the sine qua non of the Christian faith? What if we treated our children and spouses, our coworkers, everyone online, every other driver on the road, every cashier, every wait staff -- every person we see or meet in the day -- with these virtues? What difference would that make?
What if, right now, right here, with this person, we asked a really simple question: Am I being more kind, loving, patient, gentile, joyful, good, faithful and self-controlled?
I think it'd make a world of difference.
I think Brittany and Dennis would have more to believe in.
And I think it'd give the world more reason to stop and take a look at following Jesus.
That is to say, Brittany and Dennis would never tell you they're Christians. They haven't -- for lots of reasons, both intellectual and spiritual -- been able to put their names on the dotted line.
But they have -- and do! -- put their lives to the way of the Spirit in all the ways that Jesus talks about following him as disciples.
Granted, they wouldn't put things just that way. I do. But that's because I've been taught to see God at work in others' lives in a way that our culture really doesn't focus on learning to see.
Like Brittany and Dennis, I really don't get how you can call yourself "Christian" -- with every box of intellectual assent ticked about every doctrine -- when you're basically a jerk. How can you be "Christian" and treat others like trash? How can you claim to be Christian and be unkind -- aggressive, rude, dismissive, haughty, intimidating, selfish?
This isn't a question that should be so easily dismissed by my sisters and brothers who, along with me, claim to follow Jesus.
Dennis and his wife sat with my wife and I over dinner about a year ago. We'd driven to Nashville to meet with them. As we sat at dinner in a random bar in Nashville, we formulated a summary of Jesus' teaching that was very clear and direct: "Don't be a dick".
Some of us Christians, if we're being honest, are just that. Dicks.
I get to hear all kinds of debates in my daily life about what's wrong with Christianity. And lots of those debates actually have merit. But why isn't this one -- that some Christians are some of the biggest assholes -- The Debate that gains the most traction in the Christian community? Why is it that our lack of kindness toward others and with others doesn't get the most attention among ourselves?
That debate comes down to this: That our confession and our lifestyle is very out of sync. Something's wrong here, and we're choosing to ignore it. Why?
I think it's because we have notions of "being Christian" that don't make more out of the fruit of the Spirit.
If you want to be passionate about the Christian faith, be passionate about the Fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Make those virtues the central content of "being Christian". Make sure they're the first thing you do when you roll over to hit the snooze button and the last thing you do when your head hits the pillow. Do not -- not even for one minute -- let them slip out of your mind. Let those virtues discipline everything you do and say and think. Let the Fruit of the Spirit be your daily passion.
What if we held the Fruit of the Spirit up as the sine qua non of the Christian faith? What if we treated our children and spouses, our coworkers, everyone online, every other driver on the road, every cashier, every wait staff -- every person we see or meet in the day -- with these virtues? What difference would that make?
What if, right now, right here, with this person, we asked a really simple question: Am I being more kind, loving, patient, gentile, joyful, good, faithful and self-controlled?
I think it'd make a world of difference.
I think Brittany and Dennis would have more to believe in.
And I think it'd give the world more reason to stop and take a look at following Jesus.