This article is long overdue. People claiming to be Christians have been walking around spreading hate and that's not what God intended. As someone who truly loves God, this hate makes me sick. God intended for us to tell others about him by spreading love, not hate. That's why I'm calling out all the Christians... including myself. Are we living the way God wants us to? Some of us need a reality check.
Let me start with the biggest reason why I'm not sure I want to call myself a Christian anymore. Yeah, I completely believe Jesus died for me and that through him I have eternal life. Christian means Christ follower. But these actions that have been associated with Christianity make me just want to call myself a Christ follower instead. The first group of people on my call-out list is the Westboro Baptist church.
There is not one picket fence sign that I agree with. Not one. God does not hate anybody. He may hate some of our actions, but he will always forgive us no matter how big the sin is. There is nothing on this earth that you could ever do or have ever done to make God not love you anymore. Who do these people think they are telling people they are going to hell because of their actions? Anybody- no matter what they have done- can go to heaven if they repent and give their life to God. Have they never read a bible? God is the only person who has the authority to judge someone. God calls us to make disciples and hating people is not the way to go about that.
I also want to call out all the churches that make homeless/poor people sit in their own section. In Jarrid Wilson's new book "Jesus Swagger" he talks about a church who enforces a policy that apparently makes homeless people sit in a reserved section away from everybody else. Everyone knows the saying "A church is supposed to be a hospital for the broken not a museum of the righteous." Church should have open arms to anyone who wants to come hear God's word. This reminds me of a YouTube video titled "Jesus>Religion". There's a quote that states "If Jesus came to your church, would they even let him in?" There's a problem if you have to dress or look a certain way to fit in at your church. I am guilty of this too. If I see someone wearing shorts or revealing tops I immediately judge them. But God calls us to "make disciples of EVERY nation." This means the homeless, the people who dress however they feel comfortable, everyone who doesn't fit our pretentious idea of a "good Christian", and every race and religion. God calls us to love everyone as he loves us.
I want to end with calling out all the people who use their religion to spread hate to the LGBT community. It's not your place to tell them who they can or can't be and how they should feel. God calls us to show love to everybody. Point. Blank. Period. You don't have to agree with their life choices, but that doesn't give you the right to tell them that God doesn't love them.
God loves everyone. There is nothing that any person can do on this earth that God won't forgive. He sent his son to take our place and die for us, not just the ones who go to church every Sunday. So come on Christians, step up and start loving like God calls us to. Stop spreading hate because you don't agree with peoples' choices. There's a problem if people only know you're a Christian by your social media. Do something nice for someone who actually needs it. Let's help the broken. Maybe if we all start spreading God's love instead of judging others and damning people to hell, the name Christian won't contradict its meaning. After all, aren't we Christians because we are the followers of Christ? Let's start acting it and living the way he wants us to.
