Dear my fellow hypocrites, my fellow Christians,
I want to preface this post by saying I, too, am a hypocritical Christian. I am no better than you, I am just here to address some issues I think it’s time to change. Now, you might be asking yourself, what is a hypocritical Christian? Just look in the media and find any negative news about a self-proclaimed Christian man or woman, and that is what a hypocritical Christian is. In truth, most if not all of us Christians are hypocritical ones, whether we are being blasted on camera or not.
We have become Christianity’s worst critics. We strip each scripture and paste it on ourselves like a Plaster of Paris Sunday school dress. We try to make sure it is tailored to perfection without any fissures or loose papers to get pulled.
It’s to the point of crouching behind Starbucks counters cursing baristas if they put a pump too little in our green and white (and sometimes red) goblet, which has become our daily communion. Our small corner cubicles have become our sanctuaries and the paperwork -- our daily devotions.
Our youth groups are falling apart looking to the congregation. How can it not when its role model is two falling towers and we have become our own terrorists? We are bombing ourselves with our own book, as though it was made for destruction, when its initial intention was reconstruction. Instead of breaking bread and sharing wine, we are breaking bones and spilling blood.
We’ve lost what it means to be a Christian. We deliver forbidden fruit baskets to our neighbors, tempting them to take a bite. We look at Joshua and Ruth as though we are Judges. We care more about the khakis you wore to Bible study rather than the wisdom that spills from your mouth. Christianity has become an elitist, exclusive club. You need to “meet the criteria” to get in. We stand outside of Planned Parenthood making sure each girl gets burned by the fire in our eyes. We are holding gasoline glances and lit matches, instead of holding those in need. We line up around the love parades with toxic signs preaching God’s hate -- a disease that doesn’t exist, yet everyone gets infected by it anyway. We’re coughing on everyone around us, meanwhile we are clutching the cure in our back pocket. God said an eye for an eye, we’ll all be blind. So where’s my walking stick? Because I can’t see anymore.
But don’t you remember? Jesus hung out with the beaten, he held the lepers, and led the disabled. He welcomed the prostitutes to a better life. He never carried a contract for them. Weren’t we made in His image? I don’t think Jesus would like looking at this picture.
People in other countries are still dying for this religion. They get beheaded just to say the Holy Name. They meet secretly in dark basements with only a candle to give enough light to read scripture. And yet, we are the ones who are hiding in this free country. It has become easier for us to shove acid down our throats and inhale chemical fumes than it is to pray. Church has become the last place we go to seek help.
I am the same hypocritical Christian. I’ve judged, I’ve misspoke, I’ve turned people away. But I’m tired of being a hypocrite. I'm tired of pretending I have a say in anyone else's decisions. It was never our job to be anyone's judge. So let’s stop talking and put things into action. Let’s try to roll away the stone, unwrap the body, take the nails out, pull the thorns from the scalp.
Let’s change it.
Sincerely,
Your fellow Christian,
Your fellow hypocrite
