Somewhere along the way we went wildly off track. We nearly lost an entire generation because of a few words. Somehow the message went from "I strive to be" to "I am" and that landed us in a world of trouble. A world of hypocrisy, of terror, of apathy, a world of hate slowly pushing out all love.
No one knows when it happened or who did it. The devil had his hand in I'm sure but we allowed it.
When I came back to my Christian faith in 2011 after a decade long hiatus I resigned myself to being labeled all sorts of things again, not least of which was hypocrite. A word that cuts deep, and to someone like me who prides herself on being a genuine person it's an even harder pill to swallow, hence the hiatus.
I didn't understand it though, it seemed like everyone Christians and atheists alike accepted that Christian was synonymous with hypocrite. It didn't make sense to me and now I know why. we mixed up 6 little words.
When we study the Bible we learn the 10 commandments and the fruits of the spirit and those of evil(sins). We also learn that we are imperfect and can never achieve perfection, ergo we cannot always bear the fruits of good, at times we are going to sin. So then why would anyone ever go around saying I am waiting until marriage, I am honest, I am self-controlled, I am forgiving, I am humble, I am always joyful. When we have already been told we cannot be all of these things at all times. It seems to me that if we all, Bible believers and everyone else, replaced "I am" with "I strive to be"we can remove the label of hypocrite from our churches.
I don't know a single person who can say they have never lost control of themselves or have never told even a white lie, or hasn't held onto bitterness from something in the past. If you claim to be that person well I believe the saint badges get handed out in heaven so no sense in talking like that while you're here on earth unless you're fond of the word hypocrite.
For myself I strive to be everything Jesus was, and God knows I'm going to fall very, very short very much of the time so please my Christian brethren and everyone who has to deal with me I beg your pardon when I do not live up to what I strive to be.
I strive to be loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.
No one knows when it happened or who did it. The devil had his hand in I'm sure but we allowed it.
When I came back to my Christian faith in 2011 after a decade long hiatus I resigned myself to being labeled all sorts of things again, not least of which was hypocrite. A word that cuts deep, and to someone like me who prides herself on being a genuine person it's an even harder pill to swallow, hence the hiatus.
I didn't understand it though, it seemed like everyone Christians and atheists alike accepted that Christian was synonymous with hypocrite. It didn't make sense to me and now I know why. we mixed up 6 little words.
When we study the Bible we learn the 10 commandments and the fruits of the spirit and those of evil(sins). We also learn that we are imperfect and can never achieve perfection, ergo we cannot always bear the fruits of good, at times we are going to sin. So then why would anyone ever go around saying I am waiting until marriage, I am honest, I am self-controlled, I am forgiving, I am humble, I am always joyful. When we have already been told we cannot be all of these things at all times. It seems to me that if we all, Bible believers and everyone else, replaced "I am" with "I strive to be"we can remove the label of hypocrite from our churches.
I don't know a single person who can say they have never lost control of themselves or have never told even a white lie, or hasn't held onto bitterness from something in the past. If you claim to be that person well I believe the saint badges get handed out in heaven so no sense in talking like that while you're here on earth unless you're fond of the word hypocrite.
For myself I strive to be everything Jesus was, and God knows I'm going to fall very, very short very much of the time so please my Christian brethren and everyone who has to deal with me I beg your pardon when I do not live up to what I strive to be.
I strive to be loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.
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