Knowing that you’re part of a group that is demonized daily is hard, but pointing a finger at the very group you belong to is even harder.
I belong to an online forum for free-thinking which encourages people to share ideas regardless of your lifestyle preferences, choices, ethnicity, religious beliefs etc. Despite the random posting of some, it does provide the opportunity to network with others and actually dissect some pressing issues within generational peer groups. This week I was really disappointed when a verbal war of words culminated in a (outspoken) Christian referring to an (equally outspoken) Atheist as one of “satan’s warriors”.
Christians like this make it challenging for Christians like me. I automatically get thrown into a group including judgmental sensationalists whenever I proudly proclaim my faith in a group of mixed religious groups. What it seems that a lot of Christians are missing is that the God we believe in, teaches love above all else. Some of us either missed that commandment (which is virtually impossible) or we have a twisted way of showing we love others. The requirement to love others was not intended to be one in which we decide if the other is worthy first. It is something that we are supposed to just give…
Now I could be wrong, but last I checked calling someone “satan’s warrior” was not a loving phrase at all. And while it may be tempting to lash out when defending your beliefs, those who fall victim to such are just further validating why people dislike and shy away from Christians in the first place: We are an exclusionary group of judgemental scripture 'quoters', set on condemning people to hell. That is not who I am. And ironically enough many of my peers who also proudly proclaim to be Christian don’t base their faith in such ludicrous principles.
As Christians we have to do better. Love first. You’d be surprised with how far that alone can get you in your spiritual relationship with God and your relationship with others.