Corrupting Christianity

I was reading some classic eighteenth century poets this afternoon when I came upon this quote.

He who begins by loving Christianity more than Truth, will proceed by loving his sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all.

At first I thought this was an anti-Christian statement. I thought the writer was being harsh. Then, I began to think. If we do love Christianity (note, I didn't say Christ) more than Truth (which is found in Christ) than we soon see the world as 'us' and 'them'. We become filled with the idea that anyone or anything that has the label 'Christian' must be good, even if it is just a chicken sandwich (Chick-fil-A comes to mind). Soon we get upset if people don't like our group (even for reasons that have nothing to do with our faith or God, just everyday reasons) and we start to retaliate. Soon, we get upset with others in our band of Christians. We have to rename ourselves to show that we aren't 'like them.' We attack the other group because they are Christian in the same way we are. We soon find that this leads to more of the same. In the end, we start to see Christianity as being whatever we are, even in areas that have nothing to do with our faith. A Christian does not have to be a white skinned, bearded fellow with glasses who likes quirky humor. That part of me doesn't have anything to do with Christ. But so often we view Christianity as 'being like me (or someone else).' We forget what the word Christian even means. Little Christ. It isn't about our name, our group, or ourselves. It is about Christ. Not a single time did Jesus attack the politics of His day. Oh, the people tried. Christ was not interested in politics that change day by day or hour by hour. He was concerned for men's souls.

So what should we take from this? Well, we need to remember that we are not to be friends only to fellow Christians. (Matthew 5:47) We are to love all people. If someone else doesn't agree with you, love them. If they mock you, pray for them. We seem to think that this applies only to when we are being tortured for our faith. (which doesn't happen here in America) We need to remember that we are to love our enemies, our neighbors, and our brothers and sisters. There is only one way to God; that is through Jesus Christ. But we need to remember what else Jesus taught. He did teach love. Love and judgement are intwined. If God did not judge, He would not have any love for those who have been wronged. On the other side of that coin, if God did not love, He would not bother to judge, or would just condemn the whole group.

In the end, we must love God, not just love religion. There are many religions, and even many in Christian circles that love religion and follow that, without ever actually following God. We need to make sure that we fellowship with Him, follow Him, and love Him first. Then we are truly Christians.