Being a ‘Christian in the age of ‘self importance’
The word Christian has many different meanings to many different people. The word itself has a rough history that is chequered, bloody and at the same time rich. It is a word that has caused great pain to many and great joy to many others. The dichotomy of the word Christian is important and it is something that is naturally maintained. Today being a Christian means different things to different people but I propose that the three main things that the word christian entails are: 1) believing in Jesus, 2) helping out those around you and 3) restoring the oppressed to their rightful place in the community. Christianity is a worldwide movement however I questing the validity of many who call themselves Christian and it is at this moment that I realised. How do we be christian in the age of self importance, of consumerism and of instant gratification?
For me there are a few things that we can try and do to be Christian in a world where most people are forgotten or ignored. The first of these is to be humble. Being humble is a very hard concept to grasp. Some people are naturally humble people and find it easy to not worry about theirselves and rather engage, encourage and be interested in the people around them. These individuals are quite often extroverts.
Then there are people like myself who find social situations stressful and need to retreat to be alone in order to recharge, this has nothing to do with humility. Being humble is a concept that is difficult to understand however as a Cristian being humble is something that flows naturally when you know Jesus. Furthermore even Jesus retreated to have time alone, to recharge, looking after yourself is an inherently biblical concept and this is something that many fail to understand.
Being humble is a concept that is difficult to understand however as a christian being humble is something that flows naturally when you know Jesus.
Serving others is for me the single most crucial part of being a Christian. When I say or write the acronym WWJD almost every Christian will instantly recognise that as ‘What Would Jesus Do’. The answer to this is that Jesus would serve no matter his circumstance and I am of the firm belief that as Christians it is therefore our job to be likeminded and serve as well. Serving others is an act of humility and you can serve others without
pushing your beliefs on others. I serve at every opportunity I get and I am not the only person who is like this. For example I purposefully go our of my way each year to serve at an event called STORMco. Which stands for ‘Service To Others Really Matters’.
Being Christian means that I am called to do what Jesus would do, help out those not as fortunate as me with an open mind and without judging. As a human judging comes extremely naturally, this presents a challenge for myself and it means that I have to be intentional in the way I represent Jesus to the world. Being a Christian means that I am likely to be the first or even only example of the love of Jesus in a persons life. Many people call themselves Christian but they miss a key part of being a Christian, they forget to be representatives of Jesus to the world.
So let me ask you, are you a Christian or do you just use the label?
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Andrew Pratt Online Ministries 