Christianity is having a serious public relations crisis. Just mention the word “Christian” and it’s almost always a negative image that comes to mind. There are a lot of haters and people who give Christians a bad rap. The truth is that you don’t have to be weird or some kind of fruit loop to be a believer in Christ.
Jesus told us to be "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14-16) - not a holy psycho.
I watched a video recently from a self-appointed prophet who said she needed to share a word she received from the Lord. I can’t tell you how strongly my eyes rolled when I came across this. I worked with a Christian newspaper several years ago with a man who would routinely get a "word" for people. Well, I tried it. I got a "word" for him one day and it wasn't one that he liked. He went on to instruct me that God doesn't give upsetting words to people and that I was doing it wrong. I asked him about some of the unpopular words that prophets gave in the Old Testament. Needless to say, our relationship unraveled shortly after that.
Believe me. We’re not all like this.
You don’t have to be weird to be a believer and you don't have to label yourself as a "Christian". Just be a believer. You don't have to label it and you don’t even have to go to a church. Shocking I know. I mean some people need church and that’s okay but it isn’t a requirement.
Growing up in a Pentecostal church, I have seen many weird things and lots of spiritual abuse. Lots of emotionalism. There have been some truly extreme things. I was taught that we were the only TRUE church and that others have not seen the truth yet. With me having an introvert personality, I never fit in to that version of God. My relationship with God has evolved over the years. For me, it’s not something I’m going to be all in your face about. I wouldn’t force my beliefs on anyone. It doesn’t work that way. I can’t make you believe. You either do or you don’t. My words aren’t going to convince you. The Holy Spirit does that. I am not the Holy Spirit but there’s a lot of people who seem to think they are.
I am by no means perfect, and I have not also been the best example. There are days I mess up or just have what I call “Milton moments” but I ask forgiveness and try to learn from it. Living as a believer is a constant commitment on improving. There is absolutely no requirement to be weird to be a believer. You don’t have to choose a specific political party. You don’t have to hate, and you don’t have to do weird things to prove anything. The only requirement is just simply to believe in God. When you do that and have a relationship with Him, He will guide you.
Just love God and love people. There’s nothing weird about that. The world most definitely need more loving people.
