It’s not easy to tell people you’re a Christian in today’s world.
Whether it’s the beliefs, you stand for, or what the narrative of Christians is like, to say to a stranger that “I am a Christian” has all sorts of loaded assumptions about what that means. But do you know one of the things that make me the most hesitant to tell random people that I’m a Christian?
My own imperfections make me embarrassed to tell people I’m a Christian.
It’s like driving behind a really rude driver and them having a Jesus fish sticker on the bumper. I’m scared that a mistake I make desecrates the name of Jesus. I’m afraid people will say about my life, “Is that what Christians are like?”
And then I come across this passage from Jesus:
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14
Man! Jesus is saying that we are the light of the world. In other words, we need to put ourselves out there. We need to tell people boldly what we’re about and what value we bring to the world.
How do we reconcile both the command of Jesus to put ourselves out there as Christians as well as our own fallibility? One morning the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me the secret. He said,
“Phil, you can put yourself out there, even if you’re fallible, as long as you have humility.”
Humility! That makes so much sense. As long as we are a people who know and admit that we’re not perfect, we have the right to put ourselves out there as Christians. It is not our perfection that qualifies us to advertise ourselves; it is our pursuit that qualifies us.
It is in the same vein as Paul when he said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” Because we are not calling people to become like us (as if that was a good thing), we are calling people to become like we’re becoming. And the only way to handle that tension is the power of humility.
With arrogance, we will always be hypocrites. Our lives will be a distaste to others because they sense we are calling others to something we are not pursuing ourselves.
However, humility is being able to admit wrong. It is being able to look ourselves in the mirror. It is taking out the plank in our own eye before looking at the planks of others. It is being more self-defacing than public-criticizing. Humility is how we can boldly tell people we are Christians.
Do you ever struggle with telling people you’re a Christian? Do you think humility is the answer to how we both tell people boldly while maintaining the integrity of our pursuit?
Let me know in the comments or reply back!
You were made for greatness,
Phil
Hey Phil - another great piece, my friend. No wonder you've been called to write a book =)
I'm pretty sure I'm surrounded by a lot of Christians...but there's not a lot of evidence, and a lot of ungodly behavior (the entrepreneurial space, the Web3 space, etc.). I'm pretty sure I'm contributing to that, sometimes...but like you said, humility and a work-in-progress keeps me trying to do and be better.
I'm not too aggressive with my Christianity (I don't think, at least). I make subtle hints here and there, like:
* I try and post an Instagram story with the question: "How can I pray for you, today?"
* Whenever I hear about a struggle or an aspiration from someone, I usually say "I'm going to be praying for that!"
* I say prayers every once in a while on Twitter
The rest of the time, I try and just be someone who's been saved by grace, and given an immense purpose. I wanna make it so that people are wondering "Why is he so happy/peaceful/helpful?" and wanna know more of why.
Keep this stuff up, my dude!
I'm pretty much always surrounded by Christians or people that know I am a Christian. I have no problem telling new people I am a believer. (Even though they probably already know by the way I speak.) I agree that humility as you explained it is the answer to proclaiming Jesus. I also know that people have different definitions of humility as well. (Some people think being poor is humble.) I like to encourage people like "There is nothing different about me, I just chose to say "YES" to the Lord. You can do it too!" I also use real-time testimonies to encourage others as well, like when I almost didn't pray for someone because of the fear of what others would think, or losing my patience with my kids, but then I pray and Holy Spirit strengthens me. Being transparent requires humility, but I know it's for the greater good.