Not many things in life can actually make me angry to a point where my heart is in so much discomfort but this...this pisses me off. Before you start thinking "oh you're being a hypocrite, you're hating on them, God calls us to love..etc." My anger really has nothing to do with the people but everything to do with the action. I even get mad at myself for the same things some times. So don't worry, I don't think they're bad people nor do I hate them.
What bothers me the most about modern day pharisees is pretty much summed up with the cartoon up there. These people try to portray this image of being a "perfect" christian. They go to church every sunday, talk to all their friends about Jesus, pray before every meal and snack and drink and...piece of candy. They're probably serving God as a leader somewhere.
But these very people are also the ones who go out and bully the gays. They're the ones who go up to people and tell them they're going to burn in hell. They're the ones who think its ok to act on God's behalf and punish those who sin. These are the very people who claim to love God and yet they're the very reason why other people don't want anything to do with Him.
I went to a conference last year and we were told to go out and outreach to people we meet on the streets. My team and I met this guy outside of our hotel. He was just sitting there in the cold so we bought him some hot soup and talked to him about Jesus. He had this sense of anger in his voice when he said "the reason why I don't want to believe in God is because of how messed up the history of Christianity is..think about the crusades, why would I want to be a part of that?"
It breaks my heart to know that christians are the very reason why people detest God. The crusades happened so long ago and yet the consequences of their unloving actions are affecting people to this day. It's not fair to Him. God didn't do anything wrong, we're the ones who do bad yet everything we do reflects who he is. We really are his ambassadors. Us, as christians, represent God on this earth (we're NOT God though). Our unloving actions really can affect the way others view Christ. I'm not saying we all need to act as perfect as we can. We're not perfect, we're human and we will sin. God knows that and he forgives us. But what I am saying is that we should strive to live and love the way God wants us to. It's not easy, people can be so un-loveable sometimes but this is what God has called each and everyone of us to do.
What bothers me the most about modern day pharisees is pretty much summed up with the cartoon up there. These people try to portray this image of being a "perfect" christian. They go to church every sunday, talk to all their friends about Jesus, pray before every meal and snack and drink and...piece of candy. They're probably serving God as a leader somewhere.
But these very people are also the ones who go out and bully the gays. They're the ones who go up to people and tell them they're going to burn in hell. They're the ones who think its ok to act on God's behalf and punish those who sin. These are the very people who claim to love God and yet they're the very reason why other people don't want anything to do with Him.
I went to a conference last year and we were told to go out and outreach to people we meet on the streets. My team and I met this guy outside of our hotel. He was just sitting there in the cold so we bought him some hot soup and talked to him about Jesus. He had this sense of anger in his voice when he said "the reason why I don't want to believe in God is because of how messed up the history of Christianity is..think about the crusades, why would I want to be a part of that?"
It breaks my heart to know that christians are the very reason why people detest God. The crusades happened so long ago and yet the consequences of their unloving actions are affecting people to this day. It's not fair to Him. God didn't do anything wrong, we're the ones who do bad yet everything we do reflects who he is. We really are his ambassadors. Us, as christians, represent God on this earth (we're NOT God though). Our unloving actions really can affect the way others view Christ. I'm not saying we all need to act as perfect as we can. We're not perfect, we're human and we will sin. God knows that and he forgives us. But what I am saying is that we should strive to live and love the way God wants us to. It's not easy, people can be so un-loveable sometimes but this is what God has called each and everyone of us to do.
The problem with some christians today is we claim to be doing all these things for God. But if we forget to include LOVE in the equation, can we really say its what God wanted us to do? He called us to love people, even those who are different from us. He loves us all the same and he wants us to love people in that way too. A genuine love and concern for the people in this world. Billy Graham put it really well when he said this "It is God's job to judge, Holy Spirit's job to convict and my job to love." Let God do his part, and let us focus on ours."If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."-1 Corinthians 13:1-3
"We love because he first loved us. If anyone says "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: whoever loves God must also love his brother."-1 John 4:19-21
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