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Bad vs. Good Christians

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good-bad

Bad Christian vs Good Christian

The other day I was thinking about how bad I am at Christianity. Really bad. What is it that symbolises my badness. Well… here’s my personal list.

  1. I have not been able to consistently engage in “traditional” prayer practices. (Head bowed, hands clasped, and eyes closed).
  2. I still swear inside my head. The powerful F-word being the most frequent, followed closely by J.C.
  3. I don’t like listening to our local contemporary Christian music station. I like hip-hop, hip-hop country, country music and house music; none of these are played on our contemporary Christian music station.
  4. I skip the worship portion of the service because I don’t like the genre of music that either of my churches play.
  5. I’m not a fan of Mark Driscoll’s theology, in fact, I’m not a fan of Mark Driscoll himself!
  6. I’ve grown tired of doing Beth Moore bible studies (I’ve done at least 10 of them, all of them were great, but time to for something new! )
  7. I think The Message is not a good resource for bible study. (It’s not a translation, it’s a paraphrase)

After I thought about all the reasons that I am a “bad Christian”, I started to wonder what God thought about my list of “badness”. If God wrote my top ten list of Christian no-no’s, would the contents match what I had written?

Good Michelle vs Bad Michelle :D
Good Michelle vs Bad Michelle 😀

I wish I had an exact theological answer for what constitutes being a bad Christian. The only reference I have is the mental list of conscious and unconscious actions that I expect of myself and others. My personal list is full of things that I now realise are somewhat ridiculous. Who and what is determining good vs bad; is it our cultural norms or is it God’s standards as set out in the bible?

For now, I’m going to continue being a so-called “bad Christian”. The only thing on my list that I want to actively work on changing is my bad habit of using Jesus’ name as a cuss word and internally swearing. That’s not just a bad habit, it’s a sin! 

amen!
amen!

QUESTION:

  • Do you ever think of yourself as a “bad Christian”? What criteria are you using to determine “good” vs “bad”?
  • Which influences your Christian standards more, cultural norms or biblical standards?

ACTION:

  • Take some time to reflect on your notions of “good” and “bad”. Ask God to help you remove unhealthy notions of what to consider right and wrong.
  • Develop some grace for yourself. Being hard on our self and others doesn’t bring us closer to God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Blessing of: Humility instead of low self-esteem

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2014
2014

One Word 365

The Blessing of Humility Instead of Low Self-Esteem! 

(Jeremiah. ix. 22-23).

“Let not the wise man glorify himself in his wisdom, neither let the strong man glorify himself in his might, let not the rich glorify himself in his riches: but let him that glorifieth himself glorify in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am God who exercises love, justice, and righteousness.”

“True humility is not a result of an undervaluation of one’s talents and accomplishments. Such is a false humility, for it is built on a false foundation. Rather, the truly humble individual is keenly aware of all his (or her) strengths and qualities—but simultaneously recognizes that all these talents are G‑d-given, and therefore do not constitute a reason to feel superior to another whom G‑d has not bequeathed such talents.” (Source: Naftali Silberberg from Chabad.org)

Low self-esteem is about yourself while humility is about God.

UC Davis Medical Center describes low self-esteem as such: “What is low self-esteem? Low self-esteem is a debilitating condition that keeps individuals from realizing their full potential. A person with low self-esteem feels unworthy, incapable, and incompetent. In fact, because the person with low self-esteem feels so poorly about him or herself, these feelings may actually cause the person’s continued low self-esteem.”

From the Jewish Encyclopedia, “The prophet (Jeremiah) does not consider it sinful for man to rejoice in his achievements so long as he recognizes that all blessings flow from God, that they are all gifts of God. Riches, strength, and wisdom are nothing without God.”

Feelings of unworthiness, incapability and incompetence are not from God; they are rooted in the seeds we plant in our own minds. How do these unhealthy feelings get there? We place them there every time we tell ourselves lies about who we are as God’s creation. Humility doesn’t allow us to focus on ourselves; instead, we turn the focus to God and say, all that I am and all that I do, and all that I have is from God and because of God.

In my life I’ve had a number of insecure Christians cause stumbling blocks in my life because of their insistence on changing my understanding of my gifts, talents, and accomplishments from a humble outlook to that of low self-esteem. They were killing me softly with misused scripture.

Humility not insecurity

If you have accomplishments that you’ve work hard for, gifts that you’ve developed into talents, and a life that you enjoy, don’t be afraid to shout,” THANK YOU LORD FOR ALL THAT I AM, ALL THAT I DO AND ALL THAT I HAVE!”. Humility doesn’t have to be a sad experience.

I make awesome carrot cake with vanilla cream cheese icing. I’m not afraid to say so because I don’t criticise other people’s carrot cake or compare mine to that of others; I simply enjoy the process of making the cake and sharing it with guests. This is the peace and beauty of humility; you get to enjoy what you do because you aren’t busy entertaining a low self-esteem.

humility mother theresa

QUESTION:

Are there things that you do or have accomplished that you haven’t been able to enjoy because low self-esteem has taken the place of humility?

Are you more comfortable with having a low self-esteem rather than humility?

ACTION:

Hand over your insecurities and low self-esteem to God in prayer. Ask Him to help you replace unhealthy feelings with that of humility.

Become more conscious of comparison. When you feel yourself engaging in comparison, STOP and thank God for the gifts and abilities he has given you. Over time you will find that you’ve decreased the amount of times you engage in comparison.

May you have plenty to be humble about and may God continue to bless you!

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Day 70: This Race is a Gift

Awesome and encouraging reminder. This post is two years old, but the message is eternal. Enjoy!

Faithful Trainer

READY: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

SET: Something I recently learned is from watching the 2012 olympics marathon runners. I have been following one of the most incredible athletes, Ryan Hall, train and compete over the last few years and it’s been amazing to see the gifts God has blessed him to be able to run with such speeds.

What I have really enjoyed watching this summer is the olympic runners at the back of the pack-the ones who have to struggle and fight to overcome so many obstacles just to be there to run. They fight just to finish as their teammates cheer them on. They are the ones who put me in awe and my heart burst with pride.

Running is not an easy sport, but life is not easy either. There are times…

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Jesus Would Bring A Double-Double and Some Timbits

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office donut

Aaahh, the coffee run! Some may call it a coffee run, but we know that what they really mean is the Tim Horton’s run or the Timmie’s Run as some like to call it. I specifically name Tim Horton’s because I rarely hear anyone ever offer to do a coffee run when they are heading out to Second Cup or Starbucks. Starbucks is understandable; who can remember all those combinations: “Venti Iced Skinny Hazelnut Macchiato Sugar-Free syrup Extra Shot Light Ice No Whip” or “Double-Double“?

jesus and coffee

The coffee run is when someone with the freedom and flexibility to up and leave their work station goes to get coffee at Tim Horton’s and offer’s to bring back some coffee for their co-workers. On the surface this sounds nice. You might think; “How nice of Bob in accounting to think of us and bring back some coffee for everyone.” Unfortunately a coffee run has much deeper meanings than kindness and thoughtfulness. If someone is excluded from the coffee run this can cause hurt feelings and without saying so, it can also reveal the social environment of the workplace.

People will notice who hasn’t been asked if they want coffee. People will not only notice who you ask, but also who you take money from. Did she cover the cost for Becky from procurement or did Becky have to frantically rummage through her purse for the $1.70?  When there’s an early morning meeting at work, is there someone who usually brings a box of donuts and Timbits for everyone; or are there people who only bring a beverage tray of Tim’s coffee for their closest co-workers. When someone is on their way to work, do they call the office from the drive-thru  and only ask a few of their closest co-workers if they want something while everyone else is reduced to drinking the not-so ideal office coffee stirred with powdered Coffeemate and grainy sugar from whatever packets are laying around the office staff room.

Tim Take 10

This sounds somewhat petty, but I’m a people watcher and I tend to notice things that the average person brushes off as being nothing. I don’t think people should read too much into their office’s Tim Horton’s run, but sometimes these types of extensions of kindness reveal a lot.

I often hear Christians express a hankering for being a better Christian or example of Christ in their workplace; well… here’s an easy way to do so: start by being more conscious of the little things at work. It might sound like an insignificant way to be Christ-like in the workplace, but I strongly believe that sometimes it’s these simple things that make a difference in our interactions with our co-workers. Doesn’t sound convincing enough? Well, think about what a difference it might make in your co-workers day if you did bring a box of 12 donuts or 40 Timbits and a Take 10 box of coffee for everyone!

Maybe it’s inconvenient for you to do a drive-thru in the mornings or maybe there is nowhere to do a coffee run; well… maybe you can bring some Tim’s Tassimo T Disc’s or single serve cups to work for everyone to use.

Anyhow… every workplace has their own culture and way of determining who is “in” and who is “out”. In the workplace we’ll naturally be closer to some than others, but let’s not get into the habit of contributing to petty workplace social hierarchy. You would know your own workplace best, so whatever ways you feel like extending social kindness to your co-workers is alright!

 

Disclaimer: This is not an advert for Tim Horton’s. I don’t really like coffee, but I love the thoughtfulness of co-workers who include me in their Tim Horton’s run. I especially like the look on their faces when I tell them I don’t drink coffee 🙂

Oooh, don't ruin your kindness, offer donuts but don't pressure the dieters and healthy co-workers!
Oooh, don’t ruin your kindness, offer donuts but don’t pressure the dieters and healthy co-workers!