Salt and light

I know what I’m about to say will ruffle feathers.

Just hear me out, though. Ready? Okay, here it is…

As Christians we are not supposed to look like the world.
Phew. I did it. I stated a fundamental fact that so many Christians seem to overlook.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

I can’t tell you how many times I have been surprised by people stating Christian faith when their choices are very worldly. I had no idea they were set apart because they blended in so well.

Before you write me off as just another “judgmental Christian” let me remind you that as a believer I am bound by the precepts set forth in the Bible. I am allowed to judge what behavior is sinful because God first did. I’m not arbitrarily making up rules. The rules have already been spoken.

In 1 Corinthians Paul addresses a situation where a man was sleeping with his father’s wife (I’m assuming his step-mother, not his birth mother). Paul says to set this man outside the body of believers. He goes on to say not even to eat with those that claim to be a sister or brother in the Lord and yet continues to pursue sexual immorality, drunkenness, greed, idolatry, slander, or swindling. (1 Corinthian 5:9-11). Keep in mind, though, that in the next two verses he goes on to say that this judgment is only for those that claim to be Christian. He says God will judge the wicked outside the church.

“¹² What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? ¹³ God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

When I asked my pastor about this scripture passage he said he believes Paul is talking about those that claim Christ yet point blank refuses to address the sin in his life.  He is in complete rebellion to God.

The difference between sinning, which we are all guilty of doing on a near daily basis, and living in sin is one of repentance and acceptance.  I have a terrible time with my tongue. I’ve recognized this since I was a teenager. I’ve been praying and repenting for YEARS. Each day is a new opportunity for me to walk in righteousness- most days I fail yet I still repent. I know I have this problem. I know it is a sin issue. I know Satan knows my weakness and every opportunity he gets he offers me a chance to indulge in this particular weakness. Here is the thing though, I HATE it! I absolutely hate this sin. Every time I sarcastically respond to someone, disparage my husband because of frustration or put someone down in an attempt to deflect attention I am convicted. The Holy Spirit within me recoils when I sin and I feel it. Deep down in my spirit, I feel the spirit of God rejecting the thing I struggle with. Since I’ve recognized this sin in my life I have been working to divulge myself of it. I try and pray and ask the Lord for grace and mercy.

This is why I do not understand Christians that openly live in sin and seem to feel no remorse, conviction or desire to set things straight. I hate sin. It is disgusting to me because the Holy Spirit dwells within me. God cannot abide sin. If we are truly His child and have accepted his living presence into our lives how can we?

In Elizabeth Elliot’s book, Discipline The glad surrender, she says, “To be a Christian in New Testament terms is to be a disciple. There are no two ways about it. We have a Saviour who has forgiven and saved us from the penalty of sin. Most of us would happily settle for that. But he died to save us also from our sins, many of which we love and hate to part with.”

He died to save us FROM our sins. We don’t have to walk in sin. Many people in the world think Christians are foolish. 

1 Corinthians 1:8, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”  

They think our values are antiquated, lofty and stupid. They wonder why we try to appease an angry, judgmental God but what they don’t realize is that my desire to conform my life more and more into the image of Christ is His stamp on me. I don’t want to sin. I don’t want to look like the world because the world doesn’t look like my Jesus.

There is another problem with people claiming to be Christian and molding themselves to the standards of this world. How in the world is anyone going to know they are a Christian? We are surrounded by hurting people that want something else. They want something different from what they have so far been offered. If you look just like them what is going to attract them to Christ in you?

Your acceptance of their sin? I don’t think so. Watering down the gospel so it is palatable to the strongholds in people’s lives isn’t exactly what Christ died for. He shed His blood on the cross so that we can have POWER over the darkness- not embrace it.

They need to know they can be free! Despite the fact that each and every one of us is stained from birth, despite the fact that we will never be enough we can, by accepting the message of the gospel, find freedom from eternal death and sin.

We need to be different because they need us to be different.

Again I want you to read Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

What is good, acceptable and perfect? Getting drunk with some friends at a bar? Gossiping about the youth leader? Dressing immodestly and trying to draw attention to body parts only a spouse should see? Using foul language as a matter of course?

I’ve seen this new-age type feel good message being regurgitated throughout the body. The power of the gospel is being castrated and we are being offered a weak, insipid Jesus. Everyone is afraid of offending someone and so they say nothing that can possibly offend. The problem, though, is that in the process of trying not to hurt someone’s feelings you also cut out the life-changing aspect of the message.

Don’t forget- our lives need to be changed. When we were sinners, wallowing in the muck of the world, hopeless and dying we saw the truth of the gospel and realized we needed a change. We needed Jesus, the one that can change us.

I’m not saying we should picket the funerals of military men and blame terrorist attacks on lifestyles the USA seems to endorse.  That does little good and only serves to ignite the anger of those living in the world.
What we can do and should be doing is living a life set apart.

Matthew 5:15 “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”

Let’s be salt and light. Set apart. Different. Living in this world but not a part of it. We know what eternity has in store and if we want to snatch people from the clutches of darkness we need to give them the opportunity to notice we have the answer.

Who will they turn to if they think you are just like them?

The authentic Christian

When I was a a teenager my favorite book was the dictionary. I loved everything about words. I was passionate about etymology. Every few days I would flip the book open and find a word. Any word. Any length. Any meaning. I didn't care. That word was my "new" word. I used it every moment I could until it became a part of my vocabulary.
That habit did nothing for my popularity (most teenagers don't even know what etymology means, let alone how to pronounce it. Had I been born in my husband's neighborhood I would have sported more than one black eye...) But it instilled in me a deep love for language that manifests itself to this day.
I'm going to share with you my current favorite word.
I've been using this word a lot recently and I think it's an important one for Christians to embrace.
It's a word that seems to have fallen out of favor among the churched.
Authenticity.
I love the sound of it. Say it aloud. Aww (if you're from NY). Then. Tis. Ity.
Lovely.
Authenticity is the quality of being genuine.
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I can't stand to watch TBN. Most of those people drive me crazy. I would try to explain my reasons to Shane, but I was never really able to articulate them.
Saying so-and-so was annoying didn't really cut it.
I finally realized one day that the reason I'd rather watch Barney sing show tunes than watch a Christian network was because most of the hosts didn't seem genuine.
I'm sure their faith was genuine. I'm sure their compassion was genuine. I'm even sure they genuinely believed if you sent them your grocery money God was going to heal you of tuberculosis and help you win a new microwave oven.
But the image they portrayed didn't seem genuine...authentic.
My life is very messy. I accepted Christ when I was four.  I've never turned from him, I've never delved deep into the sin culture of Marilyn Manson, pierced my naval or stubbed my toe and cursed without repenting. I've prayed, read my Bible and loved Him. Yet still, sometimes I feel like my world is coming apart at the seams and Christ seems to always be one step out of reach.
I've doubted. I've yearned. I've resisted. I've ignored. I've loved. I've given. I've taken. I've known. I've sought.
I'm tired of Christian ministers who never experience the downs in the ups and downs of life. At least I'm tired of ministers who pretend they don't.
Where are the people like me? Does God just wash His hands of us and consign us to the useless believer's pew? (Or folding chair, depending on your denomination.)
I don't think so.
I think God knew exactly what He was doing when he formed me.
He gave me my mind knowing I was going to question everything and wonder.
He gave me my mouth knowing I was going to open it sometimes without thinking and give my opinion when it wasn't wanted.
He gave me my hands knowing they would very rarely be still.
He gave me my soul knowing the hurts I would endure, the independence I would cultivate and the passion I would display.
He knew me. Even then He loved me.  He may not need me, but He wants me and I believe He wants to use me.
Why?
Maybe because I understand the value of being authentic.
Let me share a few things about myself
Sometimes I let Ellie wear the same teal-tipped lace socks three days in a row.
Sometimes I feel the urge to pray and I roll over and go to sleep instead.
Sometimes I pass judgement on mothers who give their babies mountain dew.
Sometimes I stand at my window and allow anxiety to consume me.
I get bored while reading the Bible and will put it aside for a Ted Dekker novel instead.
I've yelled at my kids a few times to the point that my throat hurts and I'm forced to drink lemon-spiked honey water to soothe it.
It's easy for me to trust in the value of high-vitamin cod liver oil as a healing super-food, but hard for me to believe God will heal my thyroid.
When I hear people talk about how "anointed" a minister is I think it's a really nice way of saying they got goosebumps during the sermon.
I'm quick-tempered, opinionated and definitely not a glass half-full sort of girl.
I distrust people until they prove they're trustworthy and I think most everyone has an agenda.
When I was in India I visited an orphanage run by Mother Teresa and held a severely handicapped little boy in my lap. I prayed for him and spent the rest of the visit hoping one of the lice I saw crawling on his head hadn't hopped to mine.I never went back.
Sarcasm is my default response.
I can be a very ugly person. My faith is sometimes shockingly weak.
I'm just Kim. Unworthy, fallible and fully aware of my faults.
Maybe right now you're sitting in your chair, your laptop overheating on your lap and thinking I won't ever make it into full time ministry. Maybe you're right.
But I don't need a golden throne and $300 haircut to prove I'm special.
I don't need to prove I'm special at all because I already know I'm not.
There's freedom in knowing you're not perfect, you can't impress anyone and yet He still thinks you're pretty darn worth it.
Since I can't prove my significance, turn off my humanness and be a perfect Christian I've decided I'm just going to be an authentic one.
Here I am.