Jesus Christ

If this offends you, you're the problem :) (Don't worry. You can be the solution, too.)

I was on LinkedIn a few days ago, and came across a post from someone who was very frustrated about a situation in their place of employment. For context, the situation was rooted in the individual's identity and being angered by others who did not agree with/respect their/his pronouns. While detailing the circumstance, they/he said "Jesus [some other words I won't write out] Christ, already." This triggered a huge response from many "Christians."

They began attacking them/him about not only their/his identity, but also about using the Lord's name in vain. This group of Christ-followers began condemning the author of the post about how they/he should "take into consideration the religious preferences" of others and how offensive "that language" is for Christians. One man specifically made sure to point out how personally offended he was reading Jesus's name used in conjunction with the topic and the explicit word choice with It.

I couldn't help but to jump in, in defense of them/him.

Jesus's name is not a name any person on Earth can take offensively or to be used defensively. In fact, their responses and condemnation are more offensive to the name of Christ and His mission than anything grammatically referenced to in writing or spoken.

Before I go into this, let me preface my perspective. I am not saying how they/he spoke about God was something that should be done without correction. I'm also not saying I was "okay" with the usage. What I am saying, is there's a time and a place for correction, and how it is done.

What I'm also about to say, is Christians tend to use the Lord's name in vain more than non-Believers. Yes, you. And yes, even me...

I know, right? But we'll get to that point at the end...

Somewhere in our efforts to be Christ-like, Christians have assumed the role of being Christ.

Parameters and expectations of Believers were created to draw us closer to God, and to live a lifestyle that attracts others to Him as well. Rules were put in place to make sure our humility was always in check (the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20-2-17) and that God would always be priority in our decisions and our lives. In fact, it's in the Ten Commandments where we are instructed to not use the Lord's name in vain (Exodus 20:7). Much like many scriptures in the Bible, that is given in context and is part of a bigger picture.

The Ten Commandments instructs us to do and not do many things. We're told no other gods should come before God. No idol images or carvings should be created to serve as the image of God. Honor our parents. Don't kill. Don't commit adultery. Don't steal.

Just to name a few. And to be clear, none of these commandments are equate to being a "heavier sin" than the others. Doing one of these is not better or worse than the other. And let's be honest, any Christian who does not use the Lord's name in vain probably could just swap that out for another sin.

Mind you, God's name is His. Not ours. It's literally implausible for someone to be offended by something that is not directly aimed at them. That would be like me saying I'm physically hurt and in real pain when I watch my favorite wrestler get thrown out of the ring. Even though I know entrance music by heart, followed his entire career, have the t-shirt (or twenty), and bought tickets to many events - the person getting thrown out of the ring wasn't me. And no matter how close I feel as a follower, I will never be the person experiencing the match.

I know what you're thinking and, yes, I'm getting there...

"But Cherita... The Bible teaches us to lead people to Jesus and to correct them when they are wrong." Yes. It does. And those instructions are also in context.

Proverbs has many verses about not withholding correction or discipline.

Most of those scriptures are also instructional for guidance to parents raising their children.

(Proverbs 19:18, Proverbs 23:13, Proverbs 29:17, to give a few references). Think about that the next time you want to discipline or correct someone you didn't give birth to. :)

Galatians (6:1) teaches us to correct "anyone caught in any transgression." The verse continues to tell us to "restore with a spirit of gentleness." It also says to "Keep watch on yourself" immediately following. To reiterate this, let also quote/refernce Prophet Ice Cube, who cautions his listeners to "Check YO'SELF, before your wreck YO'SELF."

(Can I get an 'Amen'?)

The Bible supports this by specifying God being the One who should be the giver of correction. In the book of Job, we read "Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty." Psalm 94:12 supports this and says, "Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law."

I love when God repeats Himself in the Word. --> Like "HEY!! YOU!! YES, YOU!! I'm talking about ME!!"

Many places in the Word that speak towards correcting others is actually talking about the Lord correcting them. Not you, dawg. Him.

Now, will God use a person? Absolutely. But in the words of Weezy, from the perspective of the Holy Trinity.... "Look at you. Now look at Us." If the way you correct people sounds more like hatred, pride, and judgement. You are NOT the vessel, fam.

Could you become the vessel? Yes. But not like that.

Let's look back at the Ten Commandments. How many of those do we keep and hold true consistently in our own lives? I'd say a majority of Christians have opportunities with at least 5 of the 10 in any given collection of weaknesses. To my secondary point, we use the Lord's name in vain more often than we'd like to admit.

Do we use it as a curse word? Hopefully that answer is, "no," or at least not often. (I'm not her to judge if you do.. We all got some sort of issue with our mouths.) But think about how many times you've prayed for something "in Jesus' name," and it was something that really just benefited YOU? Or let's not forget the good ol' "Oh my God." (When you say God's name, but you aren't actually talking to Him or glorifying Him.)

Let's point our attention back to the individuals who were bullying them/him, about the LinkedIn post - I wonder if they realize they were using the Lord's name in vain while pointing the finger about His name being used... in vain. Using God in any context to judge another person - having scripture as your weapon to point out someone's sin - is just as bad as the men who pulled the woman from the act of adultery demanding to stone her. (John 8: 1-9).

We are tasked to evaluate ourselves before we judge others. Scripture says this through and through.

I wish there was a mass understanding among Christians to truly own the reason people are turning against the message of Jesus is because we are poor messengers.

The Church is turning people away from the Church. (I'll have a separate message about that soon).

We need to see the bigger picture and the larger opportunity. When we see someone who is acting in a way that does not reflect the Word of God, it's best to consider some things first:

1. Are they even a Believer? We can't hold someone to a standard (and later a judgement) against something and Someone they don't even follow.

2. Is this a chance to judge or be an example? (Fun fact!! It's never a time to judge). Each opportunity to be rude - because, let's be honest, that's what we end up doing - is actually a time to demonstrate righteousness. We need to give Grace. The same Grace our Father extends to us when we fail.

3. How can I use this as a time to be accepting and loving? Thinking about the individuals who virtually attacked them/him on LinkedIn. What if they took that moment to overlook the fault (using God's name in vain) and collectively became compassionate?

When people are devastated, disappointed, depressed, or any other negative emotion - they lash out. This door that is opened can be our time to address their hurting hearts, not their actions. In this moment, in those moments, we should be reminded to "judge not." (Matthew 7:1-3). We are spiritually held to the standard that we hold other people to.

Our salvation is not an assignment to be earthly hall monitors, using the loving Word of God to make people feel bad about themselves. We were allowed to come to His thrown as we were, before we mistakenly thought ourselves to be perfect. While the Bible does not specifically say the phrase "come as you are." The life of Christ lived it better than any word could phrase it.

And our lives should say the same for those around us. Those we agree with, and those we don't.