Comments on: Stuff Christians Need to Stop Saying #3

By: Grobmyer

Grobmyer — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:34:29 +0000

Christians – By Maya Angelou    
When I say… “I am a Christian”  I’m not shouting “I’m clean livin’.”
 I’m whispering “I was lost,  Now I’m found and forgiven.”   
When I say…. “I am a Christian”  I don’t speak of this with pride.  
I’m confessing that I stumble  and need Christ to be my guide.   
When I say… “I am a Christian”  I’m not trying to be strong.
 I’m professing that I’m weak  And need His strength to carry on.   
When I say… “I am a Christian  I’m not bragging of success.
 I’m admitting I have failed  And need God to clean my mess.   
When I say… “I am a Christian”  I’m not claiming to be perfect,
 My flaws are far too visible  But, God believes I am worth it.   
When I say… “I am a Christian”  I still feel the sting of pain.  
I have my share of heartaches  So I call upon His name.
  When I say… “I am a Christian”  I’m not holier than thou,  
I’m just a simple sinner  Who received God’s good grace, somehow!   

By: cloften

cloften — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:07:04 +0000

Good word Megan. We would do well if we stopped defending our shortcomings with the doctrine of forgiveness and instead showed humility. It is hard for me to understand how we can say that we are forgiven and have such an arrogant attitude when we say that. We can manage to pull it off though. We need to stop.

By: Megan

Megan — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:52:54 +0000

This is one of those phrases that I think qualifies as something Christians need to stop saying specifically to non-Christians. Even though it sounds humble, it’s really not. It’s like saying, “I’m no different that you, I’ve just got everything figured out and you don’t.” It’s trying to relate to the common man but falls way short. And it assumes that everyone wants to be a Christian, if only they could get there act together like us forgiven ones.

But here’s the rub: non-Christians are not pining away to be like us. Most of the time, they want nothing to do with us. We are weird, judgmental, arrogant, and get in their way of actually seeing the true God. The fact that we have a phrase denying our perfection, really gets at the state of our own hearts, not others.

I read this on Stuff Christians Like, and think it applies here too:
“I argued that for some people, Christianity is like a bully learning a new form of karate, it’s just one more way for me to beat you up.”