My title comes from John 13:35 (KJV) ‘ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. ‘ I use this because in the last month or so I have read, seen and heard things coming from multiple ‘Christian’ communities seem to be anything but loving. These have included the tearing down of an individual’s character, and whether or not someone is a Christian based on a particular belief. I’m not going to give any details because if you’re reading this you’ve seen what I’ve seen, or you’ve come across something similar in your own experience. Besides, it takes away from the point I’m trying to make. Lack of a loving and charitable spirit can and really has been said about most other endeavors, to include politics, and societal issues. I’m focusing on religion at this point. Honestly, it’s because we have been given a wonderful example and it’s being ignored.
I have a difficult time personally when I see people being mean (for lack of a better term). I find this especially true when the accusers have little or no knowledge of the person being accused. The verse I quoted above talks of love. One doesn’t have to dig very deep into the many commentaries available that point to this love, and the example of love that Christ gave us. One commentary I have come across recently is from the Blessed Theophylact. He was Archbishop of Orchid in Bulgaria in the late 11th century. He wrote a series of commentaries on the New Testament. At this time, the only one we have so far is for the Gospel according to John. One of his comments on this verse struck me as particularly relevant to the topic at hand:
‘Love prevailed among the disciples, and as a result they received the power to do miracles. If they had fallen out and separated they would have lost everything; for who would have believed men who raged against one another? This was indeed a great miracle of which Christ made them worthy, that the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul. [Acts 4:32]’ (emphasis mine).
I have no doubt that those who do not believe in Christianity enjoy when Christians focus their time and energies correcting one another. Some of these arguments are part of what drove me away from evangelical Christianity and their multiplicity of ‘subcultures’. If we are trying to witness the love of Christ to others, what kind of witness is it when we see the ‘raging’ against one another going on? And unfortunately it doesn’t seem to ever stop.
We are far better off when we humbly present our opinions and other things we’ve learned to a group. To use a further section of verses from the Bible, I would turn to James 3:13-18:
‘Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your heart, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.’
The self-seeking you see mentioned is that ‘I’m better than those other people because I know better’. Whether or not one does know better isn’t going to make a difference if they’re coming off as arrogant and boastful. For those who are trying to convince others through harsh words and tones: what good will it do if no one will listen to you? Or conversely what makes you so sure you’re right? This is especially true for those areas delving into religion.
There are those who would argue that one shouldn’t worry about whether or not they offend someone with the message of the Gospel or Christianity. To a certain degree I would agree with that statement. However, it does no good, and in reality probably does more harm when the message is colored throughout with superiority. I would say it works far better when you present your position in a positive light (i.e. ‘this is why I believe x’). If you’re asked questions as to why you don’t believe or hold the other position, you can still point to the positives without being mean-spirited.
There are quite a large number of Bible verses I could use to continue to hammer this point home but I’m just going to use two more. I would first point out James 4:11-12:
‘Do not speak evil of one another brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?’
If we’re judging others, we’re putting ourselves in the position of the one who actually IS the judge. This ties back to Matthew 7:1-2
Judge not, that you are not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged: and with what measure you use, it shall be measured back to you.
I do not judge anyone’s salvation or faith because that’s not my place. I also do not attempt to judge anyone based on their statements or actions. In all honesty, I have way too many issues to deal with in my own life to attempt to expend any energy trying to determine the eternal state of others.
