Where Atheists Get It Right

One of my atheist friends made an observation: “You Christians have it easy in some ways. Since your god forgives you for everything, you get to go around being mean without ever making it right because you’ve been ‘forgiven’.”

Wow!

My friend pointed out that atheists are not conscience free. Instead of praying to God to forgive them and (hopefully) silence that still small voice nagging at them from the back of their head, they actually go to the person they offended and make things right.

There are people we’ve wronged with whom we will never be reconciled. Loved ones who are gone or mentally impaired, for instance. In cases involving missed opportunities, we are so blessed to know that forgiveness can still be ours because of God’s amazing grace.

When we lie, cheat, gossip, or in some other way mistreat people, we can’t just fall back on the bumper sticker-ism, “Not Perfect, Just Forgiven”. We must be reconciled!

God’s forgiveness is ours for the asking, about that there is no argument. The New Testament is filled with admonishments to believers regarding our interpersonal relationships, and yet we still treat our brothers and sisters shamefully. Of course God forgives us for our many infractions, but we need to make things right with each other.

Come on! Get off the pew and be reconciled with the people you worship with every Sunday.

Let Go and Let God (ugh)

“Let go and let God”. “Don’t worry, be happy”. I have come to dislike these two bumper sticker-isms—not because I don’t believe them, but because of how often they are used. We spit out these quips, and others like them, when what we really mean is, “Gee, I have no idea what to say, but I want to say something helpful.”

I’ve written before about what I call “bumper sticker theology”. These are the feel good words and phrases we Christians say to one another. Speaking fluent Christianese is a prerequisite to church membership (or so it seems). Drive through a church parking lot during a Sunday morning service and you’re bound to see a myriad of bursts of happiness plastered on the cars.

Here are a few of my favorite sticker-isms; “It’s not a religion-It’s a relationship”. “Real Men Pray”. "CH__CH—What is missing? UR”. “Jesus Freak”. “Jesus On Board”. And my personal favorite, “In Case of Rapture, Car will be Driverless”. I don’t debate the truth of each of these phrases, but I question the effectiveness.

Jesus walked from town to town and village to village, looking for people whose life he could touch. He didn’t pass through with his arms full of flyers with words printed on fine papyrus using pomegranate ink and touting spiritual fun facts. He found and met the physical needs of the sad, lonely, and hurting. Jesus sought out the hungry, and fed them. He went to the homeless, and offered them hope. He looked for the unlovable, and He put His arms around them.

I believe that if we put a bumper sticker on our car, we should also be willing to act on those proclamations. Prepare a meal for someone who might be sick or homebound (stay away from casseroles—I’m just sayin’). Give a single mom a break, and take her kids to the library for a few hours. Take up an offering for the family who is on the brink of losing their home or having their power shut off. Send a card to a mom whose child is in prison.

There is nothing wrong with the “let go and let God” theology. 1 Peter 5:7 says, Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you. Make no mistake, however, that there are things we can do when people are in pain.

First and foremost, we need to pray for them. When Peter was in prison, the church prayed “earnestly” for him (Acts 12:5). And when Paul was in prison, he prayed for the church (Romans 1:9). In Isaiah 58:10 God commands us to feed those in want. Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. (NIV) In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us to give food, drink, and clothing to the needy and to visit the sick. He went on to say that when we do these things for the “least of these”, we’re actually doing them for Jesus himself. When we refuse to help the less fortunate, we are “refusing to help” Jesus! (vs. 45 NIV)

I know how difficult it is to watch people hurt. I know what it feels like to want to help, but to not have any idea of just how to go about doing that. Let’s get off the pew and look around us for people in need. A bumper sticker won’t fill an empty stomach. Well-intentioned words won’t pay the light bill for a family out of work. Quips can’t heal a broken heart, and feel-good words won’t bring the prodigal home. Get off the pew and decide today to meet one need of one person. That’s what it is to be Jesus with skin on. Get off the pew!

Grace is NOT an Excuse!

I never cease to be truly shocked and saddened by the way believers treat one another. We say cruel things, we make rotten choices, and we gossip about and judge our brothers and sisters more harshly then any 12 men on a jury ever could. It is my belief that we forgive these infractions because "grace" dictates we do so. We study bumper sticker theology and we believe such truths as, "forgiven, not perfect". If we complain about mistreatment by a fellow parishioner, we are admonished to "show grace".

Christians are not expected to be perfect. We are, however, expected to always be in pursuit of holiness. We are expected (and rightfully so) to be Christ followers who are doing our best to be Christ LIKE. John 13:31-35 gives us wisdom as to how others will know we are Christians. They will know not by our actions, not by how much money we give to the poor, and certainly not by the size of the mega church we build or attend. But rather, they will know us by how we love each other. Read it from God's word; "When he was gone, Jesus said, 'Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him,[c] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.'"

"Forgiven, not perfect" people like us should not be given a free pass to behave badly. Showing grace to our brothers and sisters does NOT mean that we turn a blind eye to sin, or even just plain meanness! I have seen example after example of Christians who say and do the most horrible things, but it is so often the one who calls attention to the bad behavior who gets the boot. The "whistle-blower" is seen as "intolerant" and "lacking grace".

Get off the pew and LOVE ONE ANOTHER! Holding one another accountable is not a sign that we cannot show grace, but rather it is the most loving and graceful thing you can do for someone we love. Telling the truth in love is what we are admonished to do. Ephesians 4:15 (New International Version) "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Get off the pew and do not be afraid to speak truth in love!