Conduct Unbecoming a Christian

  

As a Christian, I’m sure you have heard someone say, “Christians are just a bunch of hypocrites.” Well, that is true in many cases, but it doesn’t mean that only Christians are hypocrites. Christians haven’t cornered the market on hypocrisy but do engage in it more than they should. Hypocrisy is not selective and does not dwell only in the realm of Christianity. I have met a lot of unsaved people who say one thing and do another. But when Christians act this way, it stands out in the unsaved world like weeds in a garden. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His followers,

 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.   MT 5:14-16

In John chapter 1, John tells us that Jesus is the light and in Him is life. In the passage quoted above, Jesus tells us to let our light shine before others. In other words, if we are Christians and Jesus (Holy Spirit) lives within us, we need to let others see Jesus in our lives. But here's where the problem lies. Far too many Christians only act like Christians when they are in church or around other Christians (most of the time).

I was scrolling through Facebook recently and saw a post from my granddaughter who works as a waitress in a restaurant. She was talking about how much she despises the Sunday Church crowd that comes in for lunch. She said they are the worst customers she waits on. They are rude, obnoxious and cheap. They don’t leave tips or they leave one that is small in comparison to their bill. Others she works with also commented on her post and agreed with her. Now, to my knowledge, she has not accepted Jesus into her life as Lord and savior. If she has, she has not shared that with me. I pray for her all the time. The point is this; if she is still not a Christian, will waiting on a rude Church crowd for lunch every Sunday point her to Jesus? Will it display the true Jesus to her coworkers who might not be saved or even to other customers around them who are not saved? It’s unlikely.

I did comment on her post and told her I totally understood and agreed with her complaint. I let her know how big a problem this is within the Church and made no excuses for their behavior. And this is a very big problem within the Church today. The world has so influenced Christians and the Church that some act this way without even thinking about it. In a related incident, my wife and I had left our home church and went across the country to start a Church planting project. We returned for a visit and were in a restaurant following a mid-week service. As we were talking and sharing our experience, a man at a table close to us jumped up and began to scream at the waitress bringing his food. Everyone in that place witnessed this man acting like he was a special, privileged person who deserved super special treatment. He was complaining that his food had been sitting and waiting for her to bring it to him. He told her, in his loud screaming voice, she should have brought it to him immediately when it was ready.

She was the only waitress working that evening and had been running nonstop. So, while everyone in the place was being patient and understanding, this man jumps up and starts screaming at her. He told her to take it back and get him another order that was hot and not cold.

I thought he was just some rude and ignorant man who thought he was more special than anyone else in there that night. But the pastor I was sitting with told me this man was a pastor at one of the newer churches in town. When I heard that, I was going to jump up and rebuke him in front of everyone and let him know he defiantly wasn’t acting like a pastor. I was determined to let everyone in that restaurant know that evening that this is not a pastor they would want to sit under. My spiritual temperature shot to the top and I was going to tell him what a fool he looked like and how he was portraying Jesus as a bully. But the other pastor advised me not to say anything and calmed me down.

If anyone in that place was not saved and was being tugged by the Holy Spirit and knew or discovered who this guy was, the Spirit would have been quenched. I still believe he should have been told what a fool he was and how he was portraying Jesus that night. So, why do Christians act this way? Well, there are many reasons; some believe they are a little more special than others. They go into a restaurant and think they are there to be served and they can talk to the waiter or waitress any way they want because they are the customer. These service people are beneath them and they deserve special treatment. They should be trying to talk to them about Jesus without trying to jam it down their throats.

It could also be they attend a local church that doesn’t really teach or preach the Bible. Maybe they hear sermons on how good you are or how to be a better you. Maybe they hear sermons on social justice and not the good Samaritan. Or maybe they just aren’t listening at all. There can be many reasons why Christians act more like the world than a Bible believing Christian. The poor waitress can’t challenge them about their conduct for fear of losing their job or getting an undesirable shift. So, they take the abuse and consider Christians as the worst customers and also mean and hateful. Christians who act this way are presenting a terrible witness for Jesus. The problem is this: If one table full of Christians act this way and two tables of Christians present themselves as Jesus loving, Bible believing and are super pleasant, who will the waitress remember? Chances are, she/he will remember the bad apples who gave her a hard time and left a cheap tip.

Jesus told us to go into the world and make disciples. In other words, the great commission tells us to tell the world about Him and let people see Him in our lives by the way we live, the way we talk and the way we conduct ourselves. There’s an old saying, “We might be the only Bible they ever read.” Some Christians don’t like that saying but it is true; people who aren’t Christians are watching us. They are waiting for us to trip up or do something they can hammer us about. They are watching so let them see Jesus.

Here's a sobering thought; salvation doesn’t come with a status symbol. Salvation comes with forgiveness, love and responsibility. What’s the responsibility? The Bible is full of responsibilities. How to act, how to talk, how to relate with others, how to let others know about Jesus and many, many more. But here is the problem with responsibility in far too many Christians. They don’t read the Bible, so they don’t know what God expects from them. They might attend a local church that doesn’t encourage them to read the Bible. They hear watered down messages on Sunday mornings because church leadership doesn’t want to chase anyone away. That would hurt the financial bottom line and they can’t have that.

The New Testament writings are loaded with commands and information on how to live the Christian life. But if Christians won’t read it, then they will, for the most part, act like the world around them. The Apostle Paul gives us the solution to this problem in Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world,  but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.    Rom 12:1-2  

But for the Christian who never reads the Bible, he/she will never know this or be able to grasp and understand it. The truth is that Christians can find plenty of time to do other things but not read God’s word. And this presents a stunt in their Christian growth and maturity, and they are influenced by the things they do spend time doing or hearing. So, the problem has infected the Church to the point that they aren’t even aware of it. But for those who are, they should either fix it or when they enter a restaurant begin displaying a sign which says, “I call myself a Christian but act like a worldly bully.” At least the service person will have a warning of who they are waiting on when they approach the table. But the preference is that they act like the Christian Jesus wants us to be. 

(I don't exclude myself from this problem. I have had my times of not acting like a Christian but I never made it a way of life.)

-Bill Petite