I am a Christian. I want to start out by openly stating that because I feel like honesty is the best way to go about discussing this issue. Now, am I a perfect Christian? No. Perfection is not something any human being can grasp, no matter how hard they try. With that being said, I feel that some Christians focus more on pointing out the flaws of others instead of working on their own lives. (This is totally my opinion, and I am fully aware that someone could potentially say the same about me.) Here are some issues I have with those Christians.
Religion is used as an excuse rather than a motivator. Now, what do I mean by this? It seems to me that some individuals want to use their faith for evil instead of good. For example, the Westboro Baptist Church often bashes others, using God as the reason why. Instead of looking to Christ to better themselves and grow closer in their walk with God, they are focusing their attention on others. Jesus did not die on the cross so that he could be used as an excuse to belittle others. He died on the cross to save people from their sins, showing his love for humanity in this way. No one is perfect, so the best thing to do is motivate yourself to try harder in your own Christian life. Let God take care of everything else.
When they persisted in questioning him, he straightened up and told them, "Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” – John 8:7
Some Christians choose to hate others instead of loving them like God commands. Jesus said to love our neighbor. He never stated that we could love our Christian neighbor but show contempt to our black, Muslim, gay, or sexually promiscuous neighbor. Also, it is important to understand that, for the sake of this verse, our neighbors are not just the individuals who live next to us, or in our neighborhood. Our neighbor is literally anyone we come across in life. In short, we are to show God’s love to everyone, or at least try our hardest to do so.
Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these. - Mark 12:29-31Christianity is used by some as a way to judge others. We all sin and fall short of God’s glory. With that being said, we should aim to be understanding and kind when people screw up or make mistakes in their lives. Of course, this is not always what we end up doing, because, again, we are only human. However, judging others for their sins is not what we are called to do. We are merely to love others and focus on our own Christian lives. God is the one who will judge others in his own way and in his own time. Let him make the call, and instead of judging others take the time to pray for them.
For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. – Matthew 7:2
