yesterday in sunday school our teacher posed a question, "is it okay for those outside of the church to judge those within the church?" quite an interesting question. one that i have thought about a few different times but really havent blogged on. so here are my thoughts. and i hope to have the 2 people that might actually read this to answer the question as well.
the question was posed with a couple scenarios. the first being about a woman who was reading her bible during a break at work. she is an unbeliever and was taking a business class at iwu that required a bible study. so she was doing the class work and enter in three people who she knew went to church and were believers of Christ. this was their response. "what are you doing reading the bible? you are too unholy to be reading that."
we as christians judge the world. we look at them and say they should not be doing that. or we might even tell ourselves that we will witness to this person because they would make a good christian. i am not sure how we have gotten to this place but i know it is not a place where the church should be. why would someone come to the church when they feel judged, or they will never measure up because they have messed up so much. why would they want to follow Christ when there only representation of Christ do not even measure up themselve.
we as christians also judge other christians. we look at them and say we are better then them. we do not struggle with the same sins as they do. they also do not know near as much scripture as i do, it must because they never read the bible in their spare time. or how could they struggle with their faith. isnt faith easy. this is also a place we shouldnt be. this is why so many people have left the church. they feel judged, and if they struggle in their faith then maybe they really do not belong there.
the world might look in on all of this and say it is not for them. they like this guy named Jesus. but have never seen Jesus represented well. they look inside the church and see all the stuggle and hypocrisy. i do not want to be like them.
the church is portrayed by the church as a safe place for those outside of the church. in fact the church is one of the few places that exists for those outside of the church. but i think we forget that. we have all these things for us to grow as christians and we call it discipleship. we have all these programs that bring people together to praise God and we call it worship. during the week we small groups and bible studies and we can call it fellowhip. we do these things because we love God and want to become closer to Him
i think the answer of changing the stereotypes that people have on the church is to be more involved outside of the church. which we call outreach or service. we do this because we love our neighbors and we want to be closer to them, which we call community.
so back to the question. is it okay for the unchurched to judge the church? no one wants to be judged because it shows where we lack, how we need to grow. it is never fun to be judged but we also need to stop judging those outside the church.
5 comments:
This isn't a response, but more an addition to what you said...
Our youth pastor preached Sunday night and what I remembered most was he said that Christians sometimes act like we have all the answers, but instead we need to focus on asking the right questions...(not to forget that we do have THE answer).
Interesting point...and definitely changes the focus.
Michelle
Nate-
Way to bring up something that the Church needs to bring attention. I think and in fact feel quite strongly that it is very okay for those outside the church to judge those of us who are inside the church, especially if those of us in the church will continue to judge those outside of the church (which we shouldn’t be doing: see Matt 7:1-2.) Which in turn begs the question why in the world are we judging people at all? If somehow the church would altogether quit judging people, I think those outside the walls would still have every right to judge us for the one simple fact that we cannot hold them to the same standard that we hold ourselves. Plus, as you alluded to sometimes criticism/judgment forces us to reevaluate ourselves and figure out where we do need to grow.
And to add a few notes regarding the situation with the lady who was reading the bible at work for a class project: It is an embarrassment, a disgrace, and a damn shame that we treat people the way we do in the church. For an organization that claims to be for the good of those outside the church, why are we turning off the people we want to come to church? And maybe the larger question is How do we so quickly forget that we were once unsaved ourselves? (The only thought I can muster up is that we don’t build up altars (e.g. Joshua 4) to remember times in our lives where God has delivered us [e.g. Journaling, etc.]) We have to remember where we have come from. Except for the saving grace of God, where would we be?
I don’t know if you have read Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller, but there is a chapter in there entitled, “A Circus of Redemption: Why a man with Three Legs is better than a Woman with a Beard.” (For the record, this will probably be a horrible nutshell as it has been a year since I read the book, but it is the basis for my thoughts.) The chapter conveys this idea that if all of humanity was on a lifeboat or if the ship was sinking, we would all be making a case for why I should get on the lifeboat before anyone else. We humans are constantly trying to reassure ourselves that we are better than at least one person for one reason or another. Donald Miller makes the following point: Isn’t Jesus our lifeboat? The point with Jesus isn’t that I get on before you, or you get on before me, or who has the whitest clothes on the boat; the point is that hopefully, we will all just get on the boat. We, as a church, are more focused on making sure we are the first captain on the boat than getting as many people on the boat as possible. Brothers and Sisters this should not be....
Keep the thought provoking posts coming!
J.T.
michelle, when one thinks he has all the answers it is when he or she has become closeminded and or has less answers then he has ever thought.
jt, one of my favorite books ever. i liked it more then blue like jazz. thanks for your insight.
Great post Nate. I think the non-Christians judge Christians all the time -- and we just need to accept that -- and try our best to live in such a way that they will judge us as "good" rather than "bad" eggs.
Nate:
Long time, first time...
I've had a big problem for some time with the term "judging" others. You hear it all the time from believers, non-believers, media talking heads, etc. when someone expresses an opinion that differs from their own. It's a knee jerk reaction. "You're saying something I don't agree with. I feel threatened, but don't know how to respond. Hey, stop judging me!"
Personally, I feel (and I don't have in-depth research on Hebrew or Greek definitions for the word "judge"--so this is just opinion, really) when we are commmanded not to judge others, we are being told not to spiritually or morally condemn an individual--that's God's territory. It's the old, "we're all sinners" mixed with a little "love the sinner, hate the sin." It's pretty clear we especially need to steer clear of this in regards to non believers for reasons other people have pointed out.
However, I don't think that's what most people are doing when they are accused of being "judgmental." Most people, in fact, are simply expressing a differing opinion, but probably expressing it in a way that makes them appear accusatory and condemning. Not good.
In regards to those within the church, I feel we ARE encouraged and expected as believers to keep other believers in line--to express when we feel something is out of whack within the church or with a church member's lifestyle. Isn't that what Paul does throughout the NT? Now, before doing so, we'd better take a good look at ourselves and hack away at any planks before pointing out splinters. AND there are respectful and loving ways to broach tough subjects when the times arise to do so. I wouldn't call that "judging", though. I'd call it...er...umm...self imposed sheep herding?
Also, I feel that expressing our beliefs to a skeptical unbelieving world is paramount. That's NOT judging the beliefs of others, it's championing ours. And that's OK. I think too many Christians, myself included, keep their mouths shut simply because they don't know how to succinctly and eloquantly describe how they feel about certain hot button topics. We need to address this and improve upon it if we hope to change the opinions of others without sounding like holier-than-thou, bible thumping pharisees. Because that's the other knee jerk reaction we'll encounter.
Now, should non-believers judge those within the church? Absolutely, bring it on, because most of it is warranted anyway. How are we ever going to grow, individually or corporately, if we're never challenged...?
Anyway, my 2 cents...
Later,
Jason
P.S. Pray for me. I've been judging Belichick a lot lately, that no good classless cheater...
...and so has this guy:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/071023&sportCat=nflt
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