How can you be a Christian and...

There have been several times in the past few years where I have heard others say and uttered the same words myself.  The saying goes something like this usually, “How can you be a Christian and…”  Today, someone said they said they didn’t see how someone could be a Christian and support abortion.  I’ve heard both sides of the political aisle say they don’t see how someone could be a Christian and be a Democrat or Republican.  I’ve heard people say they don’t see how someone could be a Christian and support the military.  I’ve heard people say they don’t see how someone could be a Christian and support gay marriage.  Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

I am not going to pick apart each of these sayings, that would take too long although maybe I’ll make a new blog series addressing these sometime in the future.  What I would like to try and tackle here is the saying itself.  It’s the equivalent of saying, “God told me…” right?  I mean, you’re essentially playing a holy trump card, right?  Rather than having meaningful dialogue, we just throw that trump card out right at the beginning of the discussion and consequently start on the wrong foot.

When we say things like this, we imply that we are taking the moral high road and that Jesus is on our side.  We neglect to admit that following Jesus is a messy process and leaves room for disagreement among believers on a variety of matters.  Some prominent leaders would have us believe that of course there are some things that are debatable, but there are certain ones that are not debatable.  They then go onto tell us how women can’t be in leadership or something similar.

I am all for meaningful dialogue.  Simultaneously, I love arguing.  Like I said before, I have been guilty myself of saying something along the lines of how I didn’t know how someone could be a Christian and do such and such or support whatever it was they were supporting.  The thing we need to ask ourselves is what is our primary motivation?  Is it to love someone, draw them closer to Christ, or prove our rightness?

When we play a trump card like either “God told me” or “How can you be a Christian and…” we presume the role of judge either in society or our individual lives.  Personally, I’m going to trust God to work it all out in the end anyways.  Furthermore, I am more concerned with loving God and loving others on a deep level no matter their views whether in Christianity or outside of my faith system.  As for me, I’d rather be known as someone who loved others well rather than as someone who argued well and was usually right.

What is more likely to display Jesus to people, believers loving one another well or believers passionately debating how one or the other is clearly in the wrong?  They will know you are My disciples by your passionate arguments.  Wait, that’s not what Jesus said I’m pretty sure.  They’ll know you are My disciples by what you’re against.  Oh man, that’s not in there either.  If only I actually knew what the Bible had to say on the subject.  Oh well, it eludes me now.  Wait for it, they will know you are My disciples by your love for each other.  Was that it or something similar?  I mean, I’m not a Bible college grad so please correct me if I’m in the wrong.