And They Will Know Us By Our...........?

If a quick perusal of the last month’s Facebook postings is any indication of what many professing Christians want to be known by I am wondering if God will recognize them. My understanding of what defines a Christian at least as far as I can tell from Facebook is that the true born-againer is a liberal hating, Obama-hating, gun-control hating, Muslim hating, homosexual hating, social spending hating, big government hating, abortion rights hating, higher tax hating, same-sex marriage hating, public school hating politically conservative church goer who flies the American flag and can’t stand the fact that our country is being flooded with illegals. Now, before you go and get mad—thinking that I am saying I love all these things—don’t, because I don’t. I too, struggle with the many ungodly and just plain stupid positions our political leaders and social advocates are so bent on pursuing. But, having said that, we as believers are not best defined by what we hate unless what we hate is sin and our own sin first and foremost. The Bible makes the point that what best defines those who follow Christ is love—for Him, each other, righteousness, and sinners. Thus, getting on Facebook to tell us what you hate in everyone else and about everyone else is not the best way to introduce yourself as a follower of Christ. In fact, its not even the best way to combat the very social evils you are so eloquently fuming about. Until Christians begin to love sinners more than they love hating sinners we will never make a social difference in this world. Until we spend less time bashing sinners on Facebook and more time finding a few to spend time with, get to know, actually try to understand, and then love more than they love their sin we will never make a difference because it is doubtful we will ever lead anyone to Christ. Furthermore, until we love others and especially those whose social agendas, policies, and practices we find disagreeable, distasteful and even disgusting more than we love hating their sin or their views on gun-control, same-sex marriage, and the national debt we, like them, are nothing more than noisy gongs and clanging symbols (1 Cor. 13:1).