Beware…

. . . this is gonna be a rant!  If you don’t want to read, skip it.  If you agree, great.  If you don’t, great.  Just know that these are my observations, my perspectives, my words, and (ultimately) my blog.

I don’t know if Gandhi actually said it or not, and I don’t really care.  But it’s attributed to him, so at the risk of plagiarizing, I’m going to follow the attribution:  Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are nothing like your Christ.”

I do not like our Christians, either.

We attack one another with Sherlock Holmes-size magnifying glasses looking for holes, chinks, inaccuracies, inadequacies, flaws, problems, weaknesses . . . you get my point!  We jump on the bandwagon to tear down another person.  We look back at what has been said and pick it apart like a lawyer picks apart a testimony.

We are hyenas, hunting for the weak, the young, the vulnerable.  And when we find our prey, we howl and yawp and cry and yelp.  We feel triumphant!  We’ve caught him!  Victory for the diligent!  Power for the intelligent!  We have proven ourselves better, smarter, cleverer, faster.  MORE spiritual. MORE holy.  MORE Christ-like.  MORE approachable.  MORE real.  MORE inclusive.  MORE Biblical.

You who post on social media about Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s wedding sermon, about how flawed it was — how he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing — how we as Episcopalians are blind — how he’s an unChristian leader — how he is not a real Christian — etc.

Be ashamed!  Shut your mouths!  Look in the mirror!

Are all your sermons theologically and doctrinally and perfectly crafted according to audience and period of time and culture and situation?  Is your own life perfectly aligned with Christ at every moment of every day with every breath?  Do you honestly believe that your every movement, your every thought, your every response, your every belief, your every word is exactly like Christ would have you be?

If you stood in front of Jesus Christ right now, what would be your response?

Would you stand tall and strong and confident?  Would you be silent and numb and awe-struck?  Would you fall at His feet in love and fear and trembling?

No wonder the world hates us Christians.  No wonder the world can’t understand what we stand for.  We don’t even know it ourselves.  Our actions are SO NOT what we preach from the pulpit, from the office chair, from the classroom, from the bumper sticker on the car.  We attack one another with all the theological and doctrinal fortitude and empowerment and vigilance and righteousness that our years of seminary and church service and holy human living can muster!!

It makes me sick.  And angry.  And sad.  And angry.

Shut up, people!

Instead of pointing out where you think so-and-so is wrong, why don’t you try supporting what you believe and feel and perceive is right?!  Instead of looking for flaws, look for the nuggets of truth.  Instead of attacking, why don’t you love.  Instead of tearing down, why don’t you build up.  Instead of throwing your self-righteous vitriol into cyberspace like a chameleon launches his sticky tongue towards a fresh meal, why don’t you clamp your jaws shut and force your fingers from flying over the keyboard.

At what point in your life did you stop loving?  What happened to you that you became so arrogant?  When did you lose your humility?

if you can’t show or speak or type or be love, shut up.

And with said said, I’m shutting up.