The Mean Christians Among Us

This is certain to be controversial because it deals with the topic of meanness and Christianity or Christian BEHAVIOR. There will be those who will not agree with me, but whom will see themselves and their own actions within my words and between the lines of my sentences. Instead of attempting to rush to your own defense, perhaps sit with what I’m going to say for a little while, even a few days if you have courage. Pray about what I’m going to write below. God will convict your heart if you’re one of the mean Christians I’m going to share my thoughts upon; I trust Him to do exactly that.

           

I’m going to be discussing the transgender-ed in this posting, specifically, but I may as well be discussing anyone from the LBGTQ community, or anyone who is born differently from the rest of us. I may as well be discussing those who are hampered by a birth defect or who have Down’s syndrome, or are even mentally ill or incapacitated due to mental illness. These days, if someone is suffering from serious mental illness, many Christians want them to receive the ultimate punishment –  death.  I believe many good Christians still think that homosexuals, “the sodomites” as they call them, definitely deserve death; they feel the same way about those who are transgender-ed. The holier than thou can’t wait to descend, fingers pointing and their wagging tongues insisting, “an eye for an eye!” There is a man on trial right now who may very well be put to death and he is madder and more mentally ill than most schizophrenics are. We as a society want to kill him. He must pay.

       

In this world, a world where Jesus Christ has taught me to live, my reaction to people who are challenged and different than I am is firstly compassion. My second reaction is a fierce protective instinct, a desire to defend and protect those who are maliciously “picked on,” who are hurt or harmed by careless, hateful, unkind words or even violence. I will stand up for all of these people just as I would stand up for an abused child or weak, defenseless animal. No one is going to harm another in my presence and get away without hearing from me about it, including my brothers or sisters in Christ.

   

I have to wonder, honestly, how someone can be in Christ and lower himself or herself to the level of hurting others, but evidently some believe they can do this with impunity. I think the bible claims something about the production of “bad fruit” that may suggest to the contrary, but I’m not interested in arguing the fact. Cruelty is, without a doubt, very bad fruit.

Matthew 7: 17-19 says “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

There are those who hurl ugly commentary under the guise of “trying to save someone’s soul,” “telling the necessary truth,” “not wanting the sinner’s blood on their hands,” and other sundry bologna. I take issue with any of these rationalizations for cruelty and defer to what Christ wrote in the sand when “His people” confronted Him about the adulteress. Jesus was clear as crystal on that day and I believe He would be exactly as clear today. If  you are claiming Christianity, perhaps rethink your Christian “style.” If your style is mean and cruel, it’s not Christian. You are not Christian, at least not the way Christ intended you to be.

                                        

Clean up your own backyard, wipe away your own “issues,” do something about that very obvious cruelty BEAM within your own eyes. Trust me, you have enough to busy yourself, I assure you.

Those who are different, who have different challenges do not need anyone’s judgment for their own good; they don’t want it, don’t require it, and are certainly not going to benefit from it. Cruelty, harsh judgment, and hate under the guise of some kind of twisted “love” isn’t going to fly either. It’s simply put, BAD FRUIT. It’s rotten fruit, to the core.

               

If your behavior as a Christian is mean, cruel, ugly, and you aren’t convicted internally by it, you’re conscience has been seared as the worst of the world’s conscience’ has been seared. You’ve got a lot worse problems than the transgender-ed or others who are dealing with these kinds of issues do. Get help today.  Go to God tonight on your knees!  Beg Him for forgiveness and ask Him to restore your humanity and compassion for others. You are giving the rest of the honest-to-God real Christians a bad reputation. I, for one, am tired of it. I won’t stand by and allow it to continue to happen, silently.