Thursday evening - I asked a friend, "What do you think of, when I say that I'm a Christian"?
Response - "I'm not sure, really - every Christian I've met seems to be different".
Ok, so we're generally inconsistent - that is to be expected and shouldn't be a problem. But, she went on to describe how, as a kid, she found refuge in chapels - the only place where peace and serenity abounded (she's a Hindu, btw). Unfortunately, some Catholic priest along the way was too judgemental and turned her away. When ppl start saying that Church is only for Christians or that only believers should participate in prayer meetings - something is fundamentally wrong.
Let me take that a step further. I've been put off Church in recent times. For those who know me well - that would sound improbable. My pastor preached that drinking alcohol is not permissable for a Christian. Now, really - I have always held that if you are not an alcoholic, its not a problem. If you are in control and not the alcohol - you're in the clear. The pastor was of the view that even tasting alcohol is not good. That's all good, sir - but what about helping the male prostitutes down the road, the emaciated kids on the street with no food or clothing, what about the Church impacting society? By not drinking, Christians can surely make a prudish stand - only to be judged prudish by the world. Instead, if we do the things Christ did, like drinking with the common ppl (mind - I said "drinking", not "getting drunk"), reaching out to the oppressed and forsaken, trying to make a difference in a fallen world, accepting that even though we have the full knowledge of the gospel, yet we sin - that, to me is more what a Christian should be like. Instead of getting down and dirty, we get caught up in legalism, even arguing amongst ourselves about what is right and wrong. I don't have time to argue - every second there's people dying around the world, that's one less person I can show love.
Its when we pretend to be better than we really are - that's when we lose credibility.
