What if…

You know, sometimes I am absolutely, utterly, 100% ashamed to be called a Christian.  I am a  Bible lovin’, church goin’, Bible study leadin’, younger woman mentorin’, old youth group leadin’, old worship team singing, Jesus lovin’ fool and I am ashamed.  Here’s why…I don’t want to be included in a group that boycotts everything and doesn’t love anyone.  My Christian friends, that is who the world thinks we are…because that is who we as a general group have become.  The most recent examples I can think of off the top of my head…boycotting Starbucks because of their non-Jesus printin’ red Christmas cups and then there was that yoga pants blog thing (don’t even get me started!)

We have become a religion of “don’t”.

Don’t do this.  Don’t do that.  Don’t support this.  Don’t shop there.  Don’t touch that. Don’t…don’t…don’t!!!!

A few weeks back I had an interaction with a precious young man from Target who our family has come to know and love.  He and I have had many conversations over the years while he has checked out my groceries. We’ve talked about families and coupons and church and God and  I’ve even had a chance to pray for him on the spot a few times over the years.  This one interaction would likely be our last.  He decided to move to Las Vegas.  When I asked why he hung his head down and quietly told me he’s gay and is moving to Vegas to live his lifestyle.  And I told him that I love him and will miss him.  He stopped and looked at me and said “you are the only Christian I knew I could tell and you wouldn’t make me feel awful”.  That made me SAD!  I know this fella well enough and he knows me well enough that I told him the truth…that because I believe the Bible, I can’t support his lifestyle but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love and adore him.  Jesus loves him…I love him…Done!  He didn’t get mad that I don’t agree with him.  He didn’t tell me I’m wrong and I’m intolerant.  He gave me a smile and said he would miss me.  And I miss him and I miss our talks and I pray for him and love him.

“You are the only Christian I know who will still love me even though I….”.  That is the saddest statement EVER and it just doesn’t seem to bother many Christians.

We as a general group have become the Pharisees and Sadducees of old.  We are the judgmental, over bearing, legalistic- rule totin’, moral police that Jesus bashed over and over and over and over again.  If the Pharisees and Sadducees were part of today’s society they would be the ones boycotting Starbucks over the red cups.  They would raise a fuss on facebook and feel better about themselves as they go get their $5 cup of joe at Kunjani or some local coffee store instead of supporting that “Jesus hatin, non-Christmas lovin'” world.

I don’t want to be part of this group anymore.  I want to be a part of a new group…a group of people who love others and follow Jesus and ask “What if”….

What if instead of boycotting Starbucks over Christmas, we went and sat down over a piping hot cup of Caramel Brulee (OMG YUM!!!) in a naked red cup and we invited a friend and we talked face to face, in public about life, love and Jesus?

Or…Starbucks possiblity #2…What if we just can’t get over the fact that our red coffee cup, that is going to be in the trash in 30 minutes, does not say “Merry Christmas” and we do boycott Starbucks…but what if instead of getting our cup of joe somewhere else and feeling all puffed up and better about ourselves because we stuck it to the worldly man….what if we use that money ($5 a day for a month is a crap load of money) to send Operation Christmas Child boxes or we pay for water filters in Africa through Compassion International or we support a kid living in poverty (also through Compassion International)?

What if instead of boycotting yoga pants and screaming about how God has been taken our of schools and posting about how our school systems has gone to the ultra liberal dark side of the force (although I do still hate common core math ;->)- we thank the good Lord for the most ridiculously comfortable, awesome clothing that we women were ever blessed with and men don’t get to enjoy (ever heard Tim Hawkins “Yoga Pants” song?  Google it IMMEDIATELY).  And we wear our yoga pants as we walk around our neighborhood schools praying for the teachers, the students, the leaders of our school systems and we believe that God is bigger than this?

What if instead of bashing people who live a lifestyle we don’t agree with…what if we do what Jesus did…and we LOVE?

What if we took the time to actually read our Bibles to see how Jesus really did it and what God really says about things instead of getting “spiritually fed” through facebook and social media…(you know the Bible says nothing about “If you give a man a fish vs. if you teach a man to fish”…and says nothing about “God helps those who help themselves”)

What if we got off our butts and invested our time and hearts and loved people in true community instead of investing our whole lives in surface level interactions.

I am a yoga pants wearin’, Starbucks lovin’, Jesus apprentice…but I will no longer be a modern day Christian.  I choose to live “what if”