A Good Christian

I have been meaning to get this post written for a while now. But I haven't done it. Or blogged at all for that matter! Oh how life can kill a persons love of writing! 

I want to bring up this phrase, "good Christian."

Have you ever heard this label? I have heard this from people within the church (as in the body of Christians as a whole. Not just the building I attend. Although I have heard this label at my church too.) and within the secular culture. And the label brings the same expectations no matter if the person using the term is Christian or not. If you ask anyone what a good Christian is their answer would be something like...

A good Christian acts nice and smiles a lot and helps to take care of people.

I can't even begin to describe how much that goes against the Bible about what a Christian should be. And people in the church strive to be labeled a good Christian by these standards! WikiHow even has a page on how to be a good Christian. According to that site, there are 19 steps to becoming a good Christian.

Really?

The first step was "Act like a Christian no matter what."

Please tell me they were just kidding. Please.

You do realize anyone can act like a Christian and not really be a Christian, right?

 I am involved in community theater. I love to act!

And I am semi good at it, if I do say so myself! ;) haha!

But I can act like a lot of things that are not really me. And acting like any character has never made that character a part of me. So how is acting like a Christian making that "Christian" act a part of them? It isn't. It is an act. Why would a Christians number 1 goal be to act like a Christian?

Jesus sent his disciples to go out and make disciples! Not to go act like good people! Anyone can do that! He sent them to tell about Jesus and to build relationships with others and to cast out demons and pray and heal! He never said, "Hey guys. I think if you guys went out and acted like a bunch of stuck up, goody two shoes, theologians, people would want to follow me. Don't you think? Let's give this a shot!" I MEAN REALLY! And Jesus taught of faith, grace, and love! He taught about living to follow God's will for your life and to seek the least. And guess what! Jesus hung out with people that were not Christians. I'm not even kidding. Jesus hung out with the woman at the well (John 4), and even Matthew, one of his disciples was a tax collector! (Matthew 9) Tax collectors were known thieves! And so many others that the culture would not see as the type of people one should associate themselves with. But they too came to live by Gods leading and living in His faith, grace, and love!

(As a little side note, the Bible says God is Love. It says so in 1 John 4:8 just to name one location. This is not the only occurrence of this phrase. But the word that was used for love here means everlasting, never ending, love. God is never ending love. And this love is not like the English word we have for love. It implies so much more. It was used for a strong love that could never be broken no matter the circumstances. So not only is his love everlasting, it is strong. It wasn't just a never ending little crush like you had in kindergarten. It was a strong, powerful, passionate, never ending, everlasting, love. Wow!)

Basically I believe that the Bible sends us as Christians to follow what God has called for each individual person. My walk with God and the plans he has for me, are nothing like the ones he has for you. We are called to live the life God has called us individually to, and this is to bring glory to Him! Our God!

Now please don't think I'm saying that "oh everyone just do what God says and life will always be happy!" that would be this "Good Christian" label that I am trying to eliminate! Or at least change the definition of!

Because Jesus followed what God called him to do, it wasn't always so pleasant. Dying on the cross for sins He had never committed wasn't an easy task God had planned for him. He went through hard times and He dealt with hard stuff! I can't imagine he ever "acted" like those were easy things. He knew it was hard and He knew it was His calling. His time in the garden to pray before His death showed us that. (Luke 22) Sometimes we face massive trials in our lives. Now, in today's culture you probably will not be hung on a cross. But you might deal with tasks that seem more than you can handle, or difficult family, work, or school situations. Maybe sins that you don't know what to do with. Or maybe you have abuse or trauma in your past, or even in your life now. God didn't say it would be easy.

John Piper said, "The difference between Uncle Sam and Jesus Christ is that Uncle Sam won't enlist you in his service unless you are healthy and Jesus won't enlist you unless you are sick." (Thanks for this quote Stephanie!)

This isn't saying that God isn't going to be present in you life unless your have the flu. It is saying that God can work in even the worst brokenness in person, and He takes that and turns it into strengths and not just strengths that we can boast in but a strength that can only come from God! (Judges 7:2)

So truly the Biblical definition of a good Christian should be someone that is following what God has called them to and living out Jesus and bringing glory to God. But that is such a personal thing between one person and God that you can't judge or label someone else with "good Christian."

My thoughts on Proverbs 31

Women in the church often look towards Proverbs 31 for an example of living a Godly life as a woman and more specifically as a wife but this text certainly applies to single women and young women as well. Verses 10-31 describe a woman who fears the Lord. To be honest the woman in these verses sounds like superwoman to me! But I will get more into that in a moment. Lets start with the beginning.

The first verse in Proverbs 31 states that this was and oracle that King Lemuel's mother taught him. Many believe that Lemuel was King Solomon. Lemuel means belonging to God and is considered a symbolic name of Solomon. So there is just a little background for you. Now the word oracle is not one you hear everyday. In fact I'm pretty sure I have never heard anyone say that. 

Except maybe in a sermon... 

But out of a Biblical context? no.

According to dictionary.com the word oracle means "a person who delivers authoritative, wise, or highly regarded and influential pronouncements."

So this really starts out with a little shout of "HEY! what she has to say is important!" Right? Also we should take into consideration that King Solomon's mother was Bathsheba.

Remember Bathsheba?

She was the woman who was bathing on the roof of her house (sounds crazy, I know. But that was normal, practical, and culturally acceptable.) when King David, who was supposed to be at war, saw her. He was struck by her beauty that he had her brought to him and he seduced her. (I'm thinking I may need to do a David blog post soon!) Well, then he finds out that she becomes pregnant with him! Woops! Right? Well Bathsheba's husband was a soldier in King David's army. To make a long story short, King David eventually had that man killed.

So the woman who teaches her son this oracle has been through a lot, wouldn't you say? I am sure she learned much through her life and gained much wisdom from her experiences. So this isn't just coming from anyone. It is coming from a woman who has seen a lot.

In the first nine verses she gives her son some wise words about what to do and what not to do. Understandably. But here is the part I am really trying to get to, verses 10-31, the woman who fears the Lord.

Bathsheba is explaining the kind of wife Solomon should find. 

"She is far more precious than jewels.(verse 10)" 

once again. I think she wants him to find superwoman. But I nonetheless, it goes on to describe a woman her husband can trust, she is a helper to him, she is a hard worker, and she is wise and educated. She provides for her household, and not just as in she does the grocery shopping and gets the kinds ready for school in the morning. She is also going out and selling the things she has made and investing in a field! (Most women today probably wouldn't invest in a field. But hey! If it works, go for it! haha!) My point is she is not simply a woman who stays at home. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a stay at home mom! I consider it the single most difficult job ever! But I have seen churches that believe that all women should stay at home and solely depend upon their husband for finances. I don't think that is what God calls every woman to. If that is what God has called you to then I think that is wonderful! And maybe one day that will be my role. I honestly have no idea! But I think women should be able to work if the need arises. Proverbs 31 does not depict a woman who is unable to step up when a need arises or is only able to live through her husband. 

Of course, I am still in high school so I understand that my writing about marriage may put me on shaky ground with some of my readers. I understand that I have no first hand experience on this subject! So feel free to correct me! :)

I think that a woman should be able to work just as the man. The Bible clearly states that the man should be the head of the household. I concur. Men and women were created so differently! But not one better than the other. I believe the differences complement one another. That is why they are made to be side by side. But God calls men to be the leaders and protectors. But a wife at her mans side should be able to help him!

I do come at this from the perspective of a very independent person. So I personally find it very hard to imagine myself one day not working. I got my first "job" at nine. I was a mothers helper for a family friend. I would clean, cook, help her kids with homework, or whatever needed to be done. I wouldn't know what to do with myself without some sort of work! Even if is simply volunteer! 

I need something to do with my self! haha! :) 

I also want to point out that these verses are written to her son to find this woman. This woman had to already have these virtues before she got married. He was to seek this woman out! Then she could be a wife with those virtues. But he wasn't to just find some lady he thought was pretty and when they got married she would somehow magically become this woman who fears the Lord! No! She needed to be seeking these virtues and seeking her Lord long before Solomon ever came along! 

If you are a woman who thinks that the fact that you are not married means that this passage does not apply to you then I am sorry to say you are sooooo mistaken. The fact that you and I are unmarried means it applies to us more than anything! We should be striving to be this woman! We should be hard workers and women that people can trust and work to grow in all of her virtues and most of all grow in our God! Because here's the deal, 93% of people end up married. Yes, there is that 7%. God didn't call everyone to marriage. Goodness, Jesus, God's own son never married! And Paul! He was single his whole life too! (But really! With the life Paul lived I don't know a woman who could put up with that! A wreck of the nerves Paul would be as a husband! Always going off preaching, getting persecuted, stranded on islands, put in prison! My word! That would turn any wife into a nervous wreck! haha!)

So my point is there is much to gain from this passage. No matter who you are or what stage of life you are in and that it is not against the Bible for a woman to work outside of the home.