Have you ever taken a step back to simply gauge the effectiveness of Jesus followers in their culture? It is no surprise to see that while the Judeo-Christian worldview is on the decline, believers are not generally known for humble efforts in attempting to lift understanding up again. Unfortunately, the charge is made against Christ followers that they often come off as prideful, judgmental and/or even hateful. Although this accusation may itself carry hate, judgment and even pride, as a Jesus follower, I must admit to some truth embedded here. When chatting this out with Jerel, one of the pastors at the church, we observed the more recent accounts of the hypocrisy found among believers.

During the Donald Sterling controversy, Christians joined the social media bashing for Sterling’s racist remarks. Yet Christians, as many people, are by nature ethnocentric. Proof of this can be seen in Martin Luther King’s famous observation that 11 am on Sunday mornings was America’s most segregated hour – unfortunately, not much has changed. Similarly, Christians are famous for condemning homosexuals for their sinful sexual practices yet less frequently acknowledging their own sexual sins like lust, pornography, and even pre-marital or extra-marital sex (and lets not forget the realm of adultery existing in just the mind). Jesus, having diagnosed best the condition of the human heart, warned us on this – that our tendency will be to point out tiny specks in another’s eye while ignoring big, fat pieces of logs in our own. What darkness! What a stumbling block to others preventing them from seeing the power of the gospel! What is the remedy to such a fallen state?

There is a proverb that is meant to help Christians adopt an approach to talking about Jesus: It’s like a beggar telling another beggar where to find food. Not only is this mindset quite enlightening, but what a perspective on the reality here! If this mindset is truly the mindset of all who talk about Jesus, then a truth from God’s Word is cherished, that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). This means that even the most “righteous” or “holy” Christian is guilty of sin. This is a humbling Christian paradox: as a Christian grows in holiness, she grows in awareness of her sin. When truth is sincerely believed and lived out, it leaves very little room for thinking of oneself better than “the other.” It leaves very little room for referring to “those people” as sinners. It leaves very little room for anything but compassionate hope that others too will find life in Jesus. Could this give us a glimpse of the blessed heart that is “poor in spirit,” “mourning,” “meek,” “hungering and thirsting for righteousness,” “merciful,” “pure in heart,” “making peace?” Probably so.

I’m usually one who is characterized by my aching back. I’m usually standing in an awkward position somewhere doing a random stretch just to give my back some ease. Over time, these issues have helped me develop some friends who also have similar problems. It has grown to be customary that if any of us comes across something that really helps us, we will usually share it. Now it is pretty unimaginable to think that when sharing any solutions that strong notions of pride could seep in. Why? Simply because we are all suffering from back pain – none is better simply because of the solution they found. Similarly, if Christians are consistently reminded of their own sin, less prone will they be to think they’ve somehow arrived. Instead, there will be a growing understanding of how God uses them to be the sweet aroma of Christ, a fragrance that gives life (2 Cor 2:15-17).

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away!