True Christianity or Cool Christians

I was thinking the other day about this cancel culture and it took me back to my high school days. I’m sure we can all remember all the “cool kids” and the way they treated some of the other kids who weren’t so cool. The cool kids were seen as the kids everyone wanted to be friends with. Well, almost everyone. I was never all that impressed with some of them and they were easy to read. I, like some others, didn’t follow them around hoping to be recognized as one of them. And, I’m sure most can remember how mean these kids could be at times. I’m just really glad we didn’t have mobile phones and social media back then. Yes, I’m older than cell phones and the internet. But that didn’t make a difference. The nerds and quiet ones were still targeted and harassed. Lunch in the cafeteria could be the worst part of their day. I had a friend, well a sort of friend, who was more of a user than a friend. He made a habit of labeling and naming other kids with crazy and demeaning nicknames. He would always coerce others to take part in something which always led to trouble. He would fit very well into today’s cancel culture. When I hear this group mocking people and using names such as Karen to mock certain women, I think of the cool kids and how they labeled other kids they thought were beneath them. This self-absorbed, self-righteous, politically correct mob today seems to think, as the cool kids did, they are the ones who are in control of how society should talk, walk and live. They couldn’t be farther from the truth. They only speak for themselves and seek to satisfy their own agenda but most of this country ignores them. Jesus tells us in Matt 7:1, “Do not judge others and you will not be judged.” He goes on to say, and I paraphrase, you will be judged in the same way you judge. And Paul tells us in Gal 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” God created all people equal. He didn’t create cool people to be different than the not so cool people. People, humans, have made these distinctions not God. When we look at another person and think we are better than that person or groups of people, we are sowing seeds of mockery. We are canceling that person in our minds and placing ourselves above them. This is what Jesus had to say to those who think this way, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”. LK 16:15 These are just a few of the things which scripture has to say to the cancel culture or the cool kids. It doesn’t matter if they believe the Bible or not. Just because they don’t believe the Bible doesn’t make it not true. It is the one truth they can’t cancel. They have tried throughout history and then have attempted to cancel history but it won’t stick. God has said His word will last forever regardless of what this group says. For those of us who are Christians, we can’t allow ourselves to get caught up in this nonsense. When Jesus died on the cross, He didn’t die for just some but for everyone. Who are we to decide who is cool enough for God? We are not to be the judge of others. We have enough of our own problems to take care of instead of trying to tell others what their problems are. This is a big problem in our world today. Why are you more concerned about another’s issues instead of your own? Christians today spend way too much time complaining about issues which they have absolutely no control of. They watch too much of cable news channels, spend too much time absorbed in political issues or too much time talking about who’s kneeling and who isn’t in the sports world. If Christians spent as much time reading and studying the Bible and praying as they do with these and other issues, the Church would be the Church Christ intended it to be. Yes, I’m sure this offends some Christians who believe these issues are vital to our society. But I would ask them to show me where Jesus set that example for us. Where did Paul tell us these issues were more important than the word of God or doing His work? God has called us to be a witness for Him to the world (Matt 28:19-20). But what kind of witness do we present if we are misrepresenting Him? Just ask a nonbeliever why they don’t want to go to church or what their problem is with God or Christians. They will tell you what they see in many Christians and it only needs to be one Christian’s bad witness to turn off too many of those who are not saved. The Bible tells us we are ambassadors to the world but too many are spreading the wrong message. The media in our society has to take the blame for much of this hatred and bickering. But I personally think that social media is as bad if not worse. I can read posts on Facebook from Christians which are mocking, hate filled, belittling and crude and rude. I know that instruction is not found in the Bible. Some might have heard that rhetoric from the pulpit of some church but never will find it in God’s word. These are items and truths which might be hard for some Christians to hear and it might get them angry but it is the truth and as the old saying goes, the truth hurts. There is no such thing as a cool Christian. God didn’t send His Son to die on a cross so we could mock and put others down. No, without His righteousness covering us, we are nothing but dirty sinners doomed to die in that sin and suffer for eternity. Instead, God loved us so much He sent His one and only Son to suffer and die on a cross to provide redemption and forgiveness of our sin. There is no room, in what Jesus did for us, for thinking of ourselves as better than others or that we are special. As Christians, we are saved from our sin and saved from eternal suffering in hell but none of that gives us a right to speak to or of others in a way which places us in the self-righteous category. These are very crazy times we are living in but that shouldn’t and doesn’t change who we are in Jesus. The chaos we see going on in this country doesn’t change who God is and He is very aware of it all. But He would never approve of the way parts of the Church are conducting themselves while dealing with it. Jesus has set the example for us and there are far too many who are not even close to living by that example. Stop trying to counter cancel, if that even makes sense. When Jesus died on the cross, He canceled our sin debt. It was a debt not one of us could pay but He did. Stop trying to be one of the cool kids and just serve God in the way He wants us to. He demands all of us, not just part of us. He wants no other god before Him and too many Christians have gods in their lives ahead of the one true God. Oh yeah, I have to include myself in this. I have my own defects in my Christian life so don’t think I have placed myself above all of this. I haven’t and I also need to adhere to all I have written here. –Bill Petite