I wonder about people who claim to love Jesus but it actually makes them worse people. 

If your faith is not making you better: then your faith sucks.

If we’re becoming more judgmental, more categorical in grading others, picking up more stones to throw at “those people” — I don’t think this is anything Jesus died for, and it’s definitely not the church he had in mind.

If we’re only gathering one day per week to passively receive information and then use that self-affirming knowledge to throw moral grenades at strangers over the fence — then I don’t see how this could be loving Jesus.  It just sounds like being in love with yourself.

If your faith is making you a jerk, it’s time to throw it out the window and start over.

Following Jesus will draw mockery.  The message of the cross is offensive to most people.  But this doesn’t mean we need to go out of our way to purposefully offend people.  It doesn’t mean that if we’re being “persecuted” that we’re somehow doing it right.  When people are offended by your faith, hopefully it’s because you’re so ridiculously kind and compassionate and disciplined in the face of a broken world that it doesn’t make sense to them.  Sometimes when we’re “persecuted,” it’s just because we’re being a jerk.

Continue reading “If Your Faith Is Making You A Jerk: Throw It Out” →