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Yesterday I heard a wonderful sermon at church. It was delivered by a young man in his 20s, and it was so very sincere and spot on. He spoke about Joseph, and how Joseph trusted God in all circumstances. He also spoke about Joseph’s character. Joseph was close to God, and when presented with an opportunity to do wrong, he had the spiritual strength to resist.
I have been appalled at the lack of character in too many leaders of churches. Everywhere I turn these days, some leader somewhere has committed an act that contradicts the teachings of Jesus. Sexual scandals abound, greed and financial misconduct seem prevalent, lies are told without any shame, fits of rage are tolerated and excused, etc. If you doubt, go to Julie Roys’ website. She is an investigative journalist who specializes in church issues.
To be honest, I am shocked. Not that I am perfect myself, but when I became a Christian, it changed my life. I was and still am so grateful. The main reason I became a Christian was not because of the promise of Heaven, or joining a church, or being set apart. I really wanted to be righteous for once, and stop messing up my life and the lives of others around me.
For the past 40 years, it has been so amazing to be able to go to bed at night with a clear conscience. I am also very grateful to be married to a man who has no skeletons in his closet. Of course, we have made many mistakes along the way, but there are no scandals.
In churches, there seems to be such an emphasis on conversion, reaching “the lost”, sharing our faith (which is often just handing out church invitations), but much less emphasis on being people of character, honest, true to their word, hardworking, sincere, and transparent. The result is that many live a double life, behave one way around other Christians, and another way at home, and often display behavior which has nothing to do with Jesus.
Would people know we are Christians if we did not say we are? Would they pause and ask why we behave in such a loving way? Would they see the light in our eyes and sense the Holy Spirit in us? Is my light shining brightly enough that I don’t have to use many words to reflect Jesus? Of course, perfection is not the goal. Sincerity is, though.
So what do we show conviction about? Church attendance or telling the truth? Giving our 10% contribution or kindness? Evangelism or loving our neighbors as ourselves? And is it preached in churches? More than that, what is practiced in secret when no one is watching? If we claim to follow Jesus, are we striving to have a Christlike character?
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