If You Believe The Way You Say You Do

I’ve been listening to a CD the last couple of days and a song has really struck me. The CD is Need You Now from the artist Plumb, and the song is Unlovable. It has struck me because it has gotten me to think about the way we, as Christians, tend to view people and treat them accordingly. This is especially a problem when they aren’t your typical Christian. For instance, the typical Christian would view a single mother, that was never married, much differently than a woman who had been married or is a widow. Why? Any one who believes in Christ should be treated the same as other Christians.

In Mark 2, we see Jesus eating at a table with sinners and tax collectors. These men and women were largely thought of by the Pharisees as non-associables. The religious leaders wanted nothing to do with them, and were shocked that a man who not only is a teacher, but a man claiming to be the Son of God would associate with these people. When asked he responds, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17 NASB). Jesus spent time with these men and women because he saw a need and sought to fill it. As Christians we should do the same.

I feel that in today’s culture, we get so hung up on how to live and doing the right thing, that we tend to push people away. People reject the gospel, not because of personal unbelief, but because of how a “Christian” acted. To me, this behavior is probably finger-pointing (it could be other things, but this usually what it has been). Putting people down, and showing them all the ways they have been wrong is not the best way to lead people to Christ. Yet, this seems to be the preferred way. I believe that the best way is through a conversation that shows all the good Jesus has done for us, not all the wrong we’ve done against God. It’s true, we’ve all done bad (Romans 3:23). We cannot maintain the high standard God has for us. But that is the point of Jesus. God knew that we couldn’t fulfill all His requirements, so He came to earth to fulfill them for us.

So we must think about the way we speak to non-believers about Christ. We can’t push people away that need our help. Christ came to help sinners like you and me, so we must also be here to help sinners like us. The lyrics that got me thinking about this were:

“Why me?
Why am I not welcome in your company?
Why do you treat me like an enemy?
If you believe the way you say you do
Oh, then why am I unlovable to you?
Oh, why am I unlovable to you?”
-Plumb, Unlovable

So let us perpetuate this faith that we say we believe and extend our hands to help those that come to us looking for help. It’s what Christ would do, so we should to.