I have been known to do personal surveys from time to time.
Not the kind where you have a seat and fill out a form, but the kind where I would just ask specific questions to random people as I encounter them usually about the topic of faith.
Some of the surveys I have done have been
There have been more, but these are the ones I have done the most. I especially enjoy asking people why they wear a cross or what it means to be a Christian.
And honestly, people have been quite offended by these questions. I suppose it is because they had to give a reason for something they were unsure of.
But do we really understand what it means to be a Christian?
When I have talked to many people about Christian identity and what it means to them, would you really be surprised at the multitude of different answers?
Answers have been as numerous as there are hairs on my head. Well, not really. But they have been many.
Yet, a few answers tend to creep up from time to time.
I don’t think any of these answers are right on. And one of them is far off.
I think the most popular answer is the third: do unto others as you would want then to do unto you.
Being a Christian is not simply about being nice to others. It’s way more.
Actually, I would rather the word “nice” be replaced with “kindness.” Because “nice” is an adjective used to describe a gesture or behavior, it is not of the same caliber of kindness. Kindness has to do with the nature of an individual.
And sometimes, Jesus calls his “kind” followers to stand for things that are offensive to the world.
Which, by the way, is not always “nice.” For example: the cross of Christ is offensive. It’s an exclusive statement manifested in divine action.
It’s a bold proclamation that states “This is how you will be saved: by humbling yourself, repenting from your sins, and believing on me [Jesus].”
Christianity Jesus proclaims that He is the only way to God.
But again, is this nice? No. Following Jesus goes way deeper than simply being “nice” and finds its deepest meaning in the love of God.
Being a Christian means more than being nice. It means being a child of the loving God. And while this is not always a call to be nice, it is always a call to act out of love (1 John 3:23-24).
Whether this would be sacrificing your time to minister to the underprivileged, to preach or witness to people about Jesus, to lead your family in Biblical truth, or to lead your single life in the purity of which you were called, it is always anchored in the love of God found in the person of Jesus Christ.
Is this new to you? How have you thought of being “nice” vs. being “kind?” How have you been called to love in your followership to Jesus? Leave your comments below.
This series includes the following posts:
1. Being a Christian: It Means More Than Being Nice
2. Being a Christian: It Means More Than “Believing”
3. Being a Christian: It Means More Than Owning a Bible
4. Being a Christian: It Means More Than Living “Right”
5. Being a Christian: It Means More Than Going to Church
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I like it when Jesus was not nice, calling herod a fox and bull whipping folks in the Temple. Sorta like Clint Eastwood
My recent post Something I Saw At ORU
Yeah I hear ya! I would have loved to been there to see that!
Never really considered the difference between "nice" and "kind." Good to point that out.
The idea of Christians being defined by nice deeds is a problem. More than one skeptic has pointed out to me that there are non-Christians who are more moral (behaviorally) than Christians (or at least those that profess to be). Sure, you can say "well they aren't really Christians." Let's change it: There's probably an unbeliever whose behavior tops mine and yours.
So while Christ does change our actions and make us more godly, you run into a lot of trouble when start trying to say, "Well God must exist! Look how moral Christians are! Christ is changing their life!"
Those are some jumbled thoughts, but I think I might put it into a post soon. Try to sort it out first though
Yes, good pointing out. I used to use the "moral shift" as evidence for authentic Christian conversion expressed in deeds. Now, however, I attribute the evidence of new and changed desires that center on and around Jesus. This proves that regeneration has truly happened because the person desires the things of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father.
That was a major turning point for me—that regenerated desires, not moral behavior, is evidence for authentic Christian conversion.
I hear ya! I would have like to see that!
Good distinction between nice and kindness. I’m going to borrow that, sir.
Use it “prolifically.”
The food pantry at my local church is a classic example of the difference between “nice” and “kind.” When they started out, there were fairly few people involved, but the folks who came in for their food were guaranteed genuine conversation and hospitality. The Gospel was preached, questions answered. People were shown love and sensitivity.
Then the numbers became important. It went from whether people were being helped, to how many people were coming in. Now it’s become the case that at every business meeting, the chairperson stands up and boasts about how many families were helped that month and what city officials chipped in financially.
After Tabitha was born, we were financially strapped and needed to use their services for extra food. I was shuffled through the process like a cow in a corral. People who greet me every Sunday morning with hugs and smiles, stared at me dispassionately and barked at me to hurry up and get my stuff because I was holding up the line. It was miserable. No Gospel on display anywhere.
The service is nice to have. People are being helped, and that’s a comfort to know.
But as for kindness, it has long evaporated in the glaring white-hot torch of inflated pride and self-exaltation.
Wow. Sounds like a very uncomfortable situation.
That’s too bad things happened that way. It’s really a terrible thing when a ministry forsakes sincerity for the sake of status.
I hope things get better there. They must remember where they came from and who has saved them. That’s the key: Remember.
I do hope sincerely that they repent and return to the way things were when the food pantry was still in its infancy. They had a beautiful vision, and it was such a joy to volunteer with them back then. To see pride poisoning such a formerly God-glorifying outreach program is heartbreaking. How it has spread from them to the rest of the church is an even greater tragedy as well.