Am I a “real” Christian?

Am I a “real” Christian?  This may sound like a crazy question to ask, but I have been thinking about that question for at least the last couple of years.  Not because I’m having a deep crisis of faith, but because of things I see on social media.  Let me try to explain.

Am I a “real” Christian?  Some people would answer a firm “Yes!” to this question, based almost solely on my political leanings.  Because in this case, I agree with their political leanings, which we know to be how God leans.

Am I a “real” Christian?  Some people would answer a firm “No way!” or at least a “Doubtful”, based almost solely on my political leanings.  Because in this case, I don’t agree with their political leanings, which we know to be how God leans.

How can both viewpoints be true at the same time?

Political beliefs seem to be a bit of a litmus test of whether a person is a “real” Christian or not these days.  And if we disagree with our friends, then we feel empowered to show them "what for" by continuing to convince them our political persuasion MUST be right or barring that, defriend them.

Really loving isn’t it?

So love.  Where is the love?  Remember this quote?

Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. ~ Jesus

Political memes.  News articles shared because they present “truth” – or at least OUR truth, so it MUST be truth.  Those really speak love, right?  Love for everyone, fellow believers as well as those who don’t believe like us, right?  

Or how about mercy?  That’s another one of the big tenants of Christianity. 

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ~ Jesus

Mercy is the act of showing compassion or forgiveness towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.  Insults.  Pride in one’s opinion.  We see these on both sides of the political aisle and every color of the spectrum between.  There is a bit of venom in so much of what is posted, like the intent is to harm those who disagree with us. Or the spirit is prideful, lifting ourselves up by re-convincing ourselves of what we already believe.  But where is the mercy?  Where is compassion for the journey other individuals are on?

Here’s another good quote:

For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. ~ Jesus

I think this is the one that gets to me the most on social media.  So much of what I read from both sides is shared with such condescension and self-righteousness and disdain that anyone who doesn’t agree with my meme of the moment must be an idiot.  Whatever happened to a little bit of humility?  What has happened to a recognition that we are all broken and in need of saving grace?  It’s still there; I know that it is, but are we expressing it well in the ever pervasive world of social media?  Some do.  But do I whether in the virtual world or the real world?

Is this something new?  This division of “US” and “THEM” by various criteria that may not be the same criteria God uses? 

Nah, it really isn’t.  People have been doing it since the beginning.  People expected Jesus to be a political hero.  When many had heard enough to figure out that wasn’t His intent, they moved on to the next potential hero who would work to give them what they wanted: security by overturning the government which was ruled by Rome at the time.  So those who remained were the “US” and those who turned away were “THEM”.

I am old enough that I remember people deciding who were the “real” Christians by how often people were in church.  Coming on Sunday morning didn’t really count.  Coming back on Sunday nights meant you were more of a “real” Christian, but those who came on Mondays for visitation and Wednesdays for prayer meeting were even more “real” Christians.  Once you volunteered to serve somewhere in a titled position, then that was proof of your “real” Christianity.

So what we see today isn’t really anything new.  But it does seem more overt and pervasive these days since social media is available at our fingertips 24 hours a day every day of the year.  I almost never engage in comments, but I will occasionally give a “Like” so if folks cared enough to count up my likes, they could figure out where I lean.  

But is that the point?  Does this bring us together or divide us more?  Are we growing in critical thinking skills as individuals or as Americans or as Christians by all of this political posting and ranting?  Are we building bridges or walls?  I admit that I fight to not let a few “respect points” drop for the poster as I keep scrolling, while I may shake my head just a bit.  I have had the honest debate about defriending people who I usually don’t agree with, but I want to take the high road and trust that being friends or being family or being fellow Americans or being fellow Christians or - how about this crazy idea? - being fellow humans is more important than politics.  Much more important, because any house divided against itself cannot stand.  That quote is still as true today as it has been for centuries. So how do we come together as one people?  Aye, there is the real rub, the real hard conversation.  Too hard a conversation for me to answer in one little blog post, but I suspect the answer is somewhere in building bridges and not walls much like The Cross does.

It often makes me sad to scroll.  There are certain people I can count on hearing from every day or so with a political meme or joke or condescending comment, even fellow followers of Christ, that I often wonder what their answer would be if I asked them face to face, “Am I a ‘real’ Christian?”