Today, my faith in God is strong, but my faith in my church,
I’m afraid, is faltering. Just when I feel like I have a better understanding
of Christianity, I’m completely blindsided by some Old
Testament-scripture-quoting dogmatic individual, who calls himself a Christian,
while simultaneously judging AND persecuting others, ‘in the name of God’!
Now I know, even as Christians, we may all come from
different backgrounds, varied doctrines, denominations, and beliefs. I, for
instance, grew up in a Methodist church, and I attended a United Church of
Christ for quite a few years. I have been exposed to many other churches in my
58 years, too. But I have to say that in all my life, in any church I’ve ever
attended or visited, never have I heard any minister or message telling me that
I should judge people here on Earth, decide if they are worthy, and ridicule,
exclude, and persecute them if I feel so obliged! Nope. Not once. On the
contrary, the basic principle or doctrine of ANY Christian church, to my way of
thinking, is LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Isn’t that what we’re basically called to do? I’m
asking...because I am beginning to think I must have missed something in all my
years of learning. In our modern world, “we’re often asked, what would Jesus do?”
While I used to think that seemed a little corny, these days, I feel like
flashing a sign pretty regularly asking that very question!
Indeed, what would Jesus have done had he witnessed the
judgement and persecution of a minister that took place at my church, all
without ANY of those involved EVER having met her? It doesn’t matter who she
was, or even what her perceived ‘sin’ may have been. She was essentially tried,
judged, sentenced, and hanged by a vigilante group through phone calls, social media,
etc. Not a single one of those people knew anything about her more than they’d
gleaned from a Google search and common gossip. Not one. That’s not loving one
another folks, no matter how you cut it. That doesn’t even fall under respect.
So today, I’m struggling with my membership in a church
where I grew up, but where love, and even tolerance, seem to have taken a
vacation; a church where the proverbial tail wags the dog, and a few misguided
people dictate how things will be done. I’m very sad. I’m embarrassed. I’m
disheartened. But I’m praying. And I am writing this piece to both get this off
my own chest, and to share with other Christians this reminder: Love one
another. That’s what it’s all about. Love one another.
