There is something that has become increasingly difficult to ignore, particularly in the current political climate: some of the loudest people professing Christianity are also some of the meanest, most judgmental, and most hateful voices around. The recent election brought this behavior to the surface in a rather dramatic way (which has significantly increased in the last 10 years).
While people are certainly entitled to their political opinions, personal preferences, and emotional responses to election results, there is a difference between being disappointed in an outcome and spewing hateful rhetoric, attacking others, and using religion to justify your hostility. What makes this particularly concerning is that many of these individuals present themselves as representatives of God, claiming that their political positions are rooted in biblical principles and that their preferred political outcome represents what is best for everyone else. But this belief, behavior, ideology, and commands are nowhere in the Bible.
I've been a Christian for over 20 years, and unfortunately I can honestly say that some of the meanest people I've encountered in my life have been “self-proclaimed” Christians. I've witnessed judgmental attitudes, spitefulness, selfishness, unbelievable arrogance and self-righteousness, cruelty, cliques, and an alarming lack of compassion from people who proudly identify themselves as followers of Christ when He taught love and forgiveness above all else.
As a long-time Christian myself, I can say with almost certainty that such people are not real Christians.
Not Every Christian Is A Christian
Let me make something clear: I am not saying that Christians are perfect. We are not. And becoming a Christian does not automatically erase every bad habit, unhealthy behavior, emotional reaction, mistake, or character flaw. As much as Christianity holds its followers to a higher standard of living, Christians are not immune from snapping back, getting defensive when challenged, or responding to disrespect with more disrespect.
Unfortunately, these behaviors don't automatically disappear when someone becomes a Christian (it would be nice if they did). And if you’ve personally ever been mistreated by a Christian, I will be the first to apologize to you on their behalf. Such Christians are usually just misguided or immature in their faith. They may genuinely believe in Christ and His teachings but have not yet developed the maturity, discipline, and self-awareness necessary to consistently demonstrate the character Christ holds us to.
Growing in Christian standards of character is not easy and requires practice, persistence, intentionality, growth, and a willingness to recognize when our behavior is inconsistent with what we claim we believe. I am not making excuses for such people, but explaining that, Christian or not, we all struggle, and just like misguided and immature Christians, we would all do better to show one another a little more understanding when it comes to the challenging human condition. But even then, their behavior shouldn’t be ignored but called out for what it is. In fact, calling out people’s bad behavior is the best and first step towards change.
Nevertheless, there is a difference between someone who genuinely needs time to keep growing versus someone who consistently embraces hateful behavior while using Christianity to justify it. While struggling is part of the human experience, it is also part of the human experience that some people care little about growing and simply want to oppress and hurt others, typically for their own gain, and will use all kinds of rationale to justify it, even the Bible.
Throughout history, many have done all sorts of horrific things with the Bible in tow when the Bible itself condemns their behavior. From slave owners, presidents, rulers, leaders, pastors, cult leaders, parents, husbands, and wives, people who weaponize the Bible come in all shapes, sizes, and faces. Regardless of what form they come in, people who are persistently hostile, cruel, and have a complete disregard for the character and teaching of Christ, even when corrected—no matter what they say, how they say it, how long they say it, how big their church is, or how much charity they do — such people are simply not real Christians!
You Will Know Them By Their Fruit
The Bible makes it clear that not all people who claim to be Christians are Christians and that we should be on guard and wary of such people. It also gives indicators you can look for to determine if they are real Christians or not, and they boil down to the person's character. The Bible claims that you will be able to recognize followers of Christ by their fruit/character, which includes the way they live, behave, and interact with others. It says that the character of one who truly believes in the teachings of Christ is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So when someone consistently demonstrates the opposite of these qualities, the Bible itself says that such people are not real Christians.
These character traits and related beliefs are not essential to Christ's teaching that you simply be hateful, disrespectful, judgmental, and spiteful toward others and genuinely call yourself a Christian. The same way you can't say you love your job but constantly complain about it, or even your spouse but don’t respect or care for them. Such people are not only the main culprits when it comes to giving Christianity a bad reputation, but more importantly, they are mocking the character of the God they claim to believe in, which they should be very careful about.
Christianity is Not A Political Weapon
Hateful, disrespectful, judgmental, and spiteful so-called Christians is one of the biggest atrocities that have surfaced in this last election. Understanding what true Christianity is about, it truly sickens me how so many have intertwined their political loyalty with their religious identity — excusing almost anything from their preferred politicians while simultaneously criticizing and condemning everyone else.
These people use the Bible to justify hostility toward foreigners, immigrants, minorities, and anyone who doesn't fit their idea of what America should look like. They claim to be dedicated to some higher moral and religious command to establish a Christian nation, but the God of the Bible never instructed His followers to do this. He also never instructed Christians to force everyone into our interpretation of His will or to see non-believers as enemies. God gave humanity free will. He gave everyone the right and ability to make their own decisions, even when those decisions are contrary to what even He wants. There are consequences to those decisions, as with all decisions, but it is not a Christians job or responsibility to become the morality police of the world.
With that said, what the Bible repeatedly emphasizes is that we should love everyone, even our enemies. It even says how we should treat foreigners and those who may be different from us. It calls us to demonstrate compassion, kindness, and consideration for people who may find themselves in circumstances different from our own and to treat others the way we want to be treated. The Bible attacks the much deeper issues of the human condition and is significantly bigger than human politics. According to the Bible, all the problems in the world come from the deception and evil of human hearts, and I think these fake Christians are doing a great job of proving his point. Because if people like these are not the world's problem, I don’t know what is.
Stop Judging People and Start Judging Rightly
Whenever someone challenges the behavior of certain Christians, someone inevitably responds with, "The Bible says not to judge." But that is not an accurate representation of what the Bible teaches. The Bible calls us to judge rightly. There is a difference between evaluating someone's behavior according to biblical principles and deciding that someone is undeserving of kindness, compassion, or help because of something they have done. We should be able to recognize when behavior is wrong without deciding that the person engaging in that behavior is no longer deserving of basic human decency. And we should certainly be able to evaluate the behavior of people who claim to represent Christ.
In fact, if we are going to use the Bible as our standard, then we should be willing to examine ourselves and others according to what it actually teaches rather than what we personally prefer. That includes politicians, pastors, church members, and anyone else who claims to represent Christianity. And if those who are serious about following Christ’s teaching are unwilling to call out those who are “fake” or dismiss accusations with the claim that they can’t be judged, who else is supposed to do it?
Don't Let Fake or Immature Christians Determine What You Believe About God
The greatest travesty about these fake and hateful so-called Christians is that they turn people away from the loving, healing, and powerful message of the Bible. I can count how many people I have met over the years who have been hurt, discouraged, or turned away from Christianity because of their experiences with Christians. To those people, I want to say, in addition to my apologies, don't allow someone else's poor behavior to become your entire understanding of a religion or God. Prejudging anything or anyone without looking into things more deeply for yourself is never a good way to make a decision. Especially one that, if true, means and changes everything.
If a pastor mistreats you, that does not mean God is cruel. If a Christian judges you, that does not mean the Bible teaches people to be judgmental. If someone uses religion to justify their hatred, that does not mean hatred is the foundation of Christianity. Just as encountering racist white people does not mean all white people are racist, or getting robbed by a black person doesn’t make all black people criminals.
People come in all shapes, colors, personalities, and levels of maturity. Some are genuinely good people, and some are not. That is true inside and outside of Christianity. My advice is simple: Read the Bible for yourself. If you are going to make a decision about a religion that makes such significant claims about God, humanity, and life, at least take the time to examine what it actually teaches for yourself. Read it with an open heart and mind and don't allow someone else's insecurities, personal issues, political loyalties, or lack of spiritual maturity to stand between you and the opportunity to discover the truth for yourself. If you read it and decide that Christianity is not for you, that is your decision. But make that decision based on what you have actually examined, not simply on the behavior of someone who may be misrepresenting it.
The Mirror We All Need to Look In
What does our character look like in our relationships with our spouses, children, family members, friends, and even complete strangers we encounter in a store? Are we demonstrating the same values, patience, kindness, and compassion that we expect from others? Are we practicing what we preach when there is no audience, no political debate, and no opportunity to publicly declare what we believe? Do we take a pause and look at ourselves when the voices around us point out things we would rather not see? This is one of the main things the Bible asks of us.
The truth is, it's always easier to point fingers at someone else than it is to turn that finger around and examine ourselves. But if we are genuinely interested in making this world a better place with a vote, we must also be willing to do the same with our hearts, minds, and lives.
Thanks again for reading and/or sharing. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Have you ever encountered someone who proudly identifies as a Christian but whose words and behavior seem completely contrary to the character of Christ? How often do you take an honest look in the mirror and evaluate your own behavior?
— Stephanie K. (Sage the Coach)
