Recently, I saw this meme online:
There were literally thousands of comments, mostly very negative against Christians. Things like, "This is so true. We're all terrible. We need to start walking the walk!" And stuff like that. Some went further and said things like "We shouldn't preach. We should just be living it," which is a total lie of Satan. Only a few people seemed to have thought it through and seen through this bilge. I have to ask:
1) Who conducted this alleged study that reached the statistic that only 20% of people think Christians are caring? Did they ask everyone in the world? Obviously not. It is unlikely that any such study was even conducted. It is much more probable is that some people who wanted to bash Christians put it out as a guilt trip.
2) In the unlikely event that this is actually the case and only 20% of the world's unbelieving population considers Christians to be caring, how is that our responsibility to fix it? It's their perception, and therefore their problem.
I find when people start saying things like this, it's to turn attention away from their own sin. Their own need of the very Savior that they are unwilling to embrace. I remember once witnessing to some classmates in college, and whenever I brought up sin, salvation, or Christ, they would say, "Yeah, but what about the hypocrites?" Well, what about them? They have nothing to do with Jesus. The real question is, what are you going to do with Jesus Christ?
Before I go further, I will hasten to say this: You and I are are not responsible for how the world perceives Christians. You are responsible for yourself. You can't control anyone but yourself. You can't control the witness and example of other believers, nor can you control the outlook of non-Christians. This being the case, none of us should be subjected to that kind of guilt-trip. Besides that...
It should be noted that Jesus warned us that the world wouldn't sing our praises. John 15:18-21 tells us: If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember, the word that I said unto you. The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
Jesus is saying here that the world rejected Him, so it stands to reason it will reject His followers. In Matthew 5:10-12, He said, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophet which were before you. We shouldn't expect accolades from the world. We don't meet them on their terms, so it's little wonder they won't like us. This shouldn't surprise us. In fact, Jesus even said in Luke 6:26, Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. If a believer is getting a lot of praise from the world, it should be a warning, according to Jesus. First Peter 4:12-14 gives a similar admonishment: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you: but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelation of His glory you may also rejoice and be overjoyed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, and of God, rests upon you. This passage reiterates what Jesus warned, and also gives an encouragement of future glory, when you are going through trials for Christ's sake. In light of these passages, the meme I shared is completely obsolete to a Christian worldview, and should never have been shared.
Having said all of this, should we try to annoy or offend? Should we intentionally shock propriety and then get a persecution complex when people don't like it? No! An extreme version of this is Westboro Baptist Church, which is famous for making hateful demonstrations against others, and then getting a superior attitude when they face opposition. Others do this in less extreme ways as well, but it isn't how we are called to be. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 (right after He warned about persecution), Ye are the salt of the earth... and then in verse 14, Ye are the light of the world... In verse 16, we are urged by the Lord to let our lights shine, letting people see our good deeds and giving glory to God. We should be doing right. And many Christians do! Christians are behind organizations such as the Goodwill, the Salvation Army, World Vision, Habitat for Humanity, Compassion International, and countless other groups that help others throughout the world. People who gripe on Christians not being caring enough are ignoring the efforts of these and other Christians efforts.
Ultimately, though, it isn't about being kind. It is about sharing the gospel. Every poor person who is fed and clothed has an eternal soul that will spend eternity somewhere. Feeding and clothing the poor, or doing other humanitarian acts, without sharing the life-giving message of salvation, is incomplete. We absolutely should be doing good works, but the gospel message should always accompany them. Walter and I give to different ministries, some monthly, some here and there as we are able, but one stipulation is that the people being served must be given the gospel and/or a Bible. We have chosen to support a child through Compassion, because they guarantee that every child receives a Bible and Christian teaching, whereas several other similar ministries we looked into cannot make that claim, but only focus on physical needs.
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| Our Compassion child, Kimberly, in El Salvador. She is receiving physical care, as well as spiritual. We regularly pray for her salvation. |
I have heard people say, "Worry about your own soul and your neighbor's stomach." My response to this is: Why not both? If you are sharing Christ with someone who is starving, the Christian thing to do is feed them. If you are not equipped to help them long-term, you can and should become aware of resources in your community that can help, such as food pantries and other programs that assist. But as believers, we are to preach the gospel. That is our foremost calling. Jesus' last command wasn't to "be nice." His last command wasn't to "live out our beliefs." It was to preach the gospel (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8). Throughout the book of Acts, the apostles never failed to mention Jesus' sacrifice and offer of salvation, even as they helped in physical ways. In Acts 6, the apostles realized that there were some physical needs that the Christians should be meeting, but they knew that for them to stop preaching and focus on that wouldn't be right for them, so they organized other believers who were called to make that their focus. Physical needs were then met, but not at the expense of spiritual needs.
I first faced this conflict when I was in junior high. I now see this as a time of refining and consecration in my life. I had a teacher who was supposedly a Christian, Mrs. Larson. She ridiculed me for my Christian witness among my peers. She constantly accused me of "shoving it down people's throats." To this day, I cannot stand that phrase, because I associate it with that humiliation of being misunderstood and misjudged. Sharing Christ is not "shoving it down people's throats." I have met very few people who "shove it down people's throats," in fact. I think this phrase is an overreaction. The bigger problem, I think, is that not enough people are witnessing. Mrs. Larson said we should "live it," but was she "living it" as she made fun of me? Was she such an exemplary person that everyone around her just said, ,"Oh my goodness. That woman is so wonderful. I knew it! Jesus really did die on the cross! I must receive Him now!" Of course not! No one's testimony is that good! Doing good deeds doesn't transmit the Romans Road into someone else's brain! Good deeds add power to our words, and sometimes open the door for an opportunity to share...but they aren't to take the place of our words. The height of irony was that, the summer between eighth and ninth grade, I led Mrs. Larson's daughter to the Lord at Vacation Bible School.
A popular quote often misattributed to Francis of Assisi says, "Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary." This is not a biblical idea. Romans 10:17 says, So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Words matter. Good deeds are like money. They are backed up by something. If we do good things but fail to preach Christ, we are telling people, "Look at what a good person I am!" My dad always told a story about a man he knew who thought he was living a great testimony before his neighbor. For years and years, he thought he was representing Christ, although he never said a word about Him. He just thought his life was his witness. One day, many years later, this neighbor got saved, and he came and tried to witness to this man who thought he was being the great testimony without words! When he shared that he was a Christian, the neighbor was shocked and said, "You lived such a good life, and I thought, 'wow, if he can live a good life like that without God, I don't need Him either.' That's why I didn't become a Christian years ago!" Absolutely live your faith...but give words to it too!
The Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:24, However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace. Paul's calling was to preach the gospel. That is our calling too, even as we fulfill other callings as well. Paul restates this in First Corinthians 9:16: ...but woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. At the end of Paul's earthly ministry, he urged his protégé Timothy to Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season... (Second Timothy 4:2). I like how the Living Bible states this: to preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out, when it is convenient and when it is not. Some of these shallow, pop-Christianity things we see online sometimes undermine this urgency to preach the gospel.
19th Century evangelist Charles Spurgeon said, "You have never truly found Jesus if you do not tell others about Him."
Of course we should have a testimony that matches our words. We're not perfect, and we shouldn't beat ourselves up about that. We do our best with God's help. When we fail, we make it right. Sometimes, that is more powerful than if we didn't mess up. One time, I handled a situation at work badly. I prayed about how to handle it, and I was able to apologize to everyone involved and make it right. My doing that ended up being a testimony to my coworkers, some of whom were unsaved. They didn't see me as this untouchable, perfect Christian. They saw me as fallible but faithful, and that showed them what God could do in their lives as well. My boss saw me as responsible, and it led to a promotion for me. That's another story, but all that to say that we won't always have a perfect testimony. If we're being faithful, that's all God asks of us. Seize opportunities He gives, and let Him do the rest. If someone had decided that Christians are mean, that isn't on you. You just keep being all Jesus called you to be!
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