#WeNeedToTalk: Greater Expectations

Ever since college, a large number of my interactions with people who label themselves as Christians have been utterly disappointing. I don’t expect Christians to be perfect (after all, who is?), but they’ve tended to put themselves above others because of their belief system. After all Jesus was, among other things, a shining example of morality, so maybe it’s not a surprise that some Christians have given into the temptation to see themselves as morally superior.

The problem is that these people don’t seem to apply a higher moral standard to themselves. Instead, their superiority is directed at others through dismissiveness, hurtful words and excluding others.

My time at a Christian college made this clear. I was told that the gay church down the street was sad because their members actually believed they could be saved. I was told I was the whitest Black girl some classmates ever knew, and that I “disgusted” them for not voting for George Bush. And I remember the visceral anger from many when the school hired its first female pastor. I recall the gossip, the hypocrisy and the deep micro-aggressions.

This type of Christianity misunderstands the teachings of Jesus. And it takes so much more energy to condemn people instead of love them. As someone who does her absolute best to follow the teachings of Christ, I want to change that narrative. Striving to be a good person shouldn’t take so much effort.

Choosing to love people is also easier because there’s no need to put conditions on our love. Working to live like Christ means advocating for everyone, but not in an “All Lives Matter” way which is still motivated by the impulse to exclude.

Being a Christian is a choice, but so is choosing what type of Christian you want to be. You could be one that lives for yourself and your group and that views your actions as above others, or you could be the Christian that lives for others and recognizes that selfless love is closer to the teachings of Jesus.

If you aren’t choosing to love everyone, then what is it you believe in exactly? And what are you doing to be a better person?

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