What I Am NOT Saying
- I am not suggesting we should swear like a Marine Drill Sargent. But Jesus spoke the language of the people in ways that the ordinary, everyday person could relate to.
- I am not saying that prayer doesn’t matter. But if you’re having lunch with your unsaved co-worker or friend, you can thank God for your meal any time in the day without making anyone uncomfortable. Perhaps there are better ways to demonstrate your faith.
- I am not saying it’s okay to show up to church in a bikini! But there’s nothing ungodly about casual and comfortable attire in a church service.
- I am not saying that politics don’t matter, and of course, Jesus is pro-life, but He was profoundly apolitical. You can’t pigeonhole Jesus. He didn’t have a political agenda even though Herod was a tyrant and Rome was evil. Matter of fact, Jesus was very focused on the poor and disenfranchised. So, please don’t act like Jesus always holds your particular political bent. Keep the main thing the main thing, and the main thing isn’t about politics; it’s about eternity.
So, yes, I struggle with overtly religious people who forget that the Pharisees (i.e., the hyper-religious of Jesus’ day) were dead right in their spiritual practices but dead wrong when it came to a genuine relationship with God and meaningful relationship with the lost.
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I cringe when a well-meaning Christian says or does something so peculiar that it builds a barrier rather than a bridge to the lost. Sadly, I fear too many are driven from Jesus and His Church not because of religious doubts but because of religious ridiculousness seasoned with a dash of hypocrisy.
By the way, please don’t quote 1 Peter 2:9 to me out of the King James version where it says that we are “God’s peculiar people.” King Jimmy got that translation wrong. He used the word peculiar, and we think “odd or weird.” A far better translation and understanding of what Peter was saying is that we are “God’s possession and His special treasure.” Or, as the Amplified puts it, “God’s own purchased, special people.”
Special does not mean weird.
Final thought: Have you ever wondered why messed up, broken, far-from-God sinners were attracted to Jesus but so often repelled by today’s Christians? I think it’s because we are too often weird and a bit unkind about our religiosity. Jesus wasn’t. Let’s be more like Him.
This article about overtly religious people originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
