Christians are known for doing some amazing acts of kindness: feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, aiding the poor, and many other good deeds.
The Holy Trinity describes the belief in Christian spirituality that the one God of the universe is comprised of three persons: the God the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. This principle is shared by most Christian denominations including Roman and Orthodox Catholics, Nazarenes, Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and more.
I was born into a Catholic family, and I'm incredibly grateful for my spiritual education. I didn't question my religion until after my divorce. If I wanted to remarry, I'd have to apply and pay for an annulment, and I didn't understand the logic behind it. Would that insinuate our child had been "invalid" as well? It made no sense to me.
I felt overwhelmed with the various Christian religions, so I decided I didn't need a title. "I'm a Christian." It's that simple.
The following five suggestions are ways I feel we could improve ourselves as Christians:
1. Stop the "Share this post if you love Jesus" garbage.
When scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed I've repeatedly seen, "1 Like = You Like Jesus. 1 Share = You Love Jesus." I don't need to pass along a trivial post to show my love for Christ. Superficial material like this usually irritates people, Christian or not. It could also trigger unnecessary guilt to a Christian reader who scrolls past it without sharing.
Before sharing anything religious on my social media I usually stop and ask myself, "Is this motivating and meaningful?"
2. Don't be a hypocrite.
It's easy to talk about our Christian endeavors, God's love, and share our spiritual cheer on social media. Unfortunately, when it comes time for Christians to show their love for others, many of us fall short.
I'm not an athletic person, but I decided to join my previous church's softball league for fun. I was unpleasantly surprised by the way I was treated. One of the Christian ballplayers harshly belittled me in front of our team and opponents for not catching the ball thrown my way. I felt so humiliated, and the person never apologized. None of the players consoled me, and I eventually quit the team.
Its acts like these that contradict what Christians truly stand for. This is when potential followers lose interest, and hope, in Christianity.
It's so important to show love and compassion to everyone.
3. Stop trying to be the boss of church money.
I've heard remarks such as, "We've got Americans who need our help! I don't want my money going to foreign countries." If that's the case, I hope your personal goods are only purchased from American owned and operated businesses. Otherwise, you're already financially contributing to foreign countries, but for a far less worthy cause.
"Our church just wasted our money on an expensive surround-sound system {smerk}," is another comment I've overheard. The church isn't required to function in the stone ages of technology. If you enjoy your preacher's sermons, isn't that the real reason you're there to begin with -- to receive the message?
If you don't feel comfortable tithing, another option would be to donate regularly to a charity or worthy cause you feel passionate about.
4. Let's quit pretending we're without sin.
Every Christian is a sinner, and a work-in-progress up until the day they die.
There are individuals in my church fighting depression, sobriety, chronic pain, financial struggles, health crises, and other situations.
I've always been a Christian at heart even when I wasn't worshipping or a member of a church. I drifted away several times due to emotional immaturity, self-indulgence, and temptation. I still struggle with weaknesses, but who doesn't? I like who I am today. I don't think it's weird that I can go from listening to hard rock or R&B music one day, to gospel music on another. It depends on my mood. None of this means I stopped loving God, or that I'm a hypocrite. Every Christian should experience their personal relationship with Christ at their own pace, and we all love God in different ways.
Alice Cooper, the rock megastar who wears scary makeup, stopped his hard-partying ways, gave up his addictions, and returned to his Christian roots in the late-1980s. Today, he's still immensely popular and touring. Anyone can change, but sin will always be lurking no matter how hard we try to avoid it.
5. Don't be judgmental.
Nothing good can come from being judgmental toward others.
Kim Davis, America's highest-profile county clerk who denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples, brought out the unholy in many Christians. I saw Christian protesters holding neon signs that read, "GOD HATES FAGS," and "GOD HATES PROUD SINNERS!" The interesting part is that Davis has married four times and divorced three times, and given birth to two children out of wedlock.
Even "if" a Christian viewed same-sex couples, abortion-seeking-women, adulterers, etc., as foes, the Bible says to love your enemies. Luke 6:27-32 states, "But I say to you who are listening, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who are cruel to you."
I don't want to be affiliated with Christians who make interpretations of evils and its influences, then chant outside with their posters of hatred. They're using God's name in an ugly manner.
Many Christians feel that suppressing judgment is a form of accepting, disregarding, and even sustaining sin. That's not the case. Only God can judge the sins of others, and I don't believe The Creator of the Universe needs our help in doing so.
If we are to represent God, our actions need to reflect humility and kindness toward others.
My personal blog of this story:
https://melissaannsite.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/what-kind-of-christian-are-you/