The Irony of Christ's Church

Philip Gulley, who is a Quaker minister, has written a book titled If the Church Were Christian. In it, he says, "This is the great irony of Christ's Church -- a significant number of its members care more about believing certain things about Jesus, than following his example of love and service. If the church were Christian, mirroring the compassion of Jesus would be more important than echoing the orthodoxy that has built up around him."

I have often contemplated this issue over the years, but never more so than in recent days. The judgmental attitudes flying around in the name of Jesus -- what some of his followers claim he would and would not approve of or demand of others in the context of society-at-large -- are truly astounding. The simple teachings which Jesus proclaimed about the Way have been distorted and complicated with the passage of time. Now that Jesus has been fully-politicized, the situation has become downright disgraceful.

Jesus did not teach we should change the world by insisting that others get in line "because we say so and because we know better than you." He made it plain he did not intend to force his message on anyone and neither should believers attempt to do so. His teachings were meant to inspire his followers to live lives free of hypocrisy, filled with joy and contentment which would lead others to want to become his disciples, too.

Jesus lived during a time of extreme government corruption and when the world around him was, in many ways, a cesspool of immorality. Yet he did not expect to change those circumstances by condemning indecency or those who did not believe in him. He expected his followers to concentrate on fixing their own shortcomings to become lights shining in the darkness, and it is the same now.

The instructions from Jesus are for his Body of believers, for his Church, to follow. This includes anyone running for any office who claims to be a Christian. If you're attempting to use Jesus to get elected, you better be on board with what he taught and not be promoting your own interpretation of what you think he meant because it lines up with what you believe.

Much of the church world has it backwards today. A certain segment of those calling themselves Christians pat themselves on the backs because they are so "good" and "right," and then they hurl insults and abuse at those they identify as "sinners." This is not the Way of Jesus. His harshest words were aimed at the religious people of his day who were filled with hypocrisy, telling others how to live while continuing in unrepentent sin themselves. His kind words and actions were toward those believers who walked in humility and who sought forgiveness, as well as for the outsiders who had not yet come to know to him. We should stop believing most of what we think we know about Jesus and start knowing him for who he was.