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Fair weather Christians
Posted by Derrick
on
12:59
This isn't going to be a post about those who are Christian and then abandon their faith when things get tough. Rather it is a post about the recent bad weather that has been experienced over in North America and in the Far East.
There have been a number of devastating hurricanes in the west and over in the east, there have been some catastrophic floods. I have been much moved and vexed by the response of Christians to these floods.
There seem to be three different responses to the floods from Christians. Firstly you have the ridiculous idiots who proclaim that the floods are a punishment from God for allowing Gay Marriage, or abortion or whatever the sin du jour is. These people annoy me. Have they not read the Bible? The kind of capricious and mean spirited god they describe is not the God who sent his son to died on the cross. I would love to say that we can ignore them but their very loudness means they are the ones non-Christians see the most. They are a bad witness and if they are not church leaders then their pastors need to start doing their jobs properly and teaching them about compassion.
Secondly, slightly less common but no less loud, are the Christian hypocrites. Those who pretend to be Christian and then, when faced with someone in need, don't do anything about it. The biggest example this time was Joel Osteen. now, setting aside his dodgy theology, he purports to be a Christian. He says he loves people like God does. Yet, his megachurch remained shut in the initial stages of the flooding from Hurricane Harvey and only opened after the inevitable pressure on social media. Why be like this? If you are a Christian and you have something that could help thousands, don't wait until people are begging. I am reminded of the dreadful shooting in Orlando last year. There is a fast food company in America called Chick Fil A. They're famously Christian. So much so that they don't open on a Sunday. Well, after the Orlando shooting, a branch in Orlando opened and made food to give to emergency workers and people donating blood to help in the aftermath of the dreadful nightclub shooting. That's the gospel. Break your rules if it means helping the needy. Don't worry about a wet carpet Mr Osteen when you know full well there are more important things out there.
Thirdly, and much less quietly are the responses of ordinary Christians. Wading through the waters to save people, to rescue people and to help bring peace and comfort. We often don't hear about this. Neither should we. The Bible is clear that we don't do things in order to show the world what we are up to. It tells us not to brag. I know that there were people who showed the love of Christ to people without any hesitation. These are the real Christians. These are the ones of whom Jesus will say "Well done good and faithful servant" when he comes again in glory.
However, here in the UK we have spent a good deal of time hearing about and worrying about the Caribbean, Florida and TExas. A lot of people have died and much has been devastated. In India thousands have died in recent floods and it barely graces our TV screens. Why should this be? Are Indian lives less worth worrying about? Are they of less value? Is it their colour? Their religion? Most of us would say "of course not ..." to those last points but why are we not up in arms about the lack of response from our Government to help those in need out in India or Bangladesh or Nepal?
God does not discriminate. The Bible is clear. He has no favourites. The poor child in Bangladesh is worth as much to God as the rich child in Texas. God loves them all equally and commands us, as Christians, to not discriminate in our charity. Charity begins at home they say so maybe that's why we feel a closer affinity to the British citizens in the Caribbean or our American cousins. They're part of our cultural and ethnic home.
Maybe. Yet, as I have posted before, the rest of the quote is significant too. The quote finishes with "But should not end there". We need to remember that just because someone speaks a different language, lives in a different country or has a different colour skin, they are as deserving of our attention and charity as anyone else.
There have been a number of devastating hurricanes in the west and over in the east, there have been some catastrophic floods. I have been much moved and vexed by the response of Christians to these floods.
There seem to be three different responses to the floods from Christians. Firstly you have the ridiculous idiots who proclaim that the floods are a punishment from God for allowing Gay Marriage, or abortion or whatever the sin du jour is. These people annoy me. Have they not read the Bible? The kind of capricious and mean spirited god they describe is not the God who sent his son to died on the cross. I would love to say that we can ignore them but their very loudness means they are the ones non-Christians see the most. They are a bad witness and if they are not church leaders then their pastors need to start doing their jobs properly and teaching them about compassion.
Secondly, slightly less common but no less loud, are the Christian hypocrites. Those who pretend to be Christian and then, when faced with someone in need, don't do anything about it. The biggest example this time was Joel Osteen. now, setting aside his dodgy theology, he purports to be a Christian. He says he loves people like God does. Yet, his megachurch remained shut in the initial stages of the flooding from Hurricane Harvey and only opened after the inevitable pressure on social media. Why be like this? If you are a Christian and you have something that could help thousands, don't wait until people are begging. I am reminded of the dreadful shooting in Orlando last year. There is a fast food company in America called Chick Fil A. They're famously Christian. So much so that they don't open on a Sunday. Well, after the Orlando shooting, a branch in Orlando opened and made food to give to emergency workers and people donating blood to help in the aftermath of the dreadful nightclub shooting. That's the gospel. Break your rules if it means helping the needy. Don't worry about a wet carpet Mr Osteen when you know full well there are more important things out there.
Thirdly, and much less quietly are the responses of ordinary Christians. Wading through the waters to save people, to rescue people and to help bring peace and comfort. We often don't hear about this. Neither should we. The Bible is clear that we don't do things in order to show the world what we are up to. It tells us not to brag. I know that there were people who showed the love of Christ to people without any hesitation. These are the real Christians. These are the ones of whom Jesus will say "Well done good and faithful servant" when he comes again in glory.
However, here in the UK we have spent a good deal of time hearing about and worrying about the Caribbean, Florida and TExas. A lot of people have died and much has been devastated. In India thousands have died in recent floods and it barely graces our TV screens. Why should this be? Are Indian lives less worth worrying about? Are they of less value? Is it their colour? Their religion? Most of us would say "of course not ..." to those last points but why are we not up in arms about the lack of response from our Government to help those in need out in India or Bangladesh or Nepal?
God does not discriminate. The Bible is clear. He has no favourites. The poor child in Bangladesh is worth as much to God as the rich child in Texas. God loves them all equally and commands us, as Christians, to not discriminate in our charity. Charity begins at home they say so maybe that's why we feel a closer affinity to the British citizens in the Caribbean or our American cousins. They're part of our cultural and ethnic home.
Maybe. Yet, as I have posted before, the rest of the quote is significant too. The quote finishes with "But should not end there". We need to remember that just because someone speaks a different language, lives in a different country or has a different colour skin, they are as deserving of our attention and charity as anyone else.
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