Spiritual-sounding statements plague social media. They may sound good, but are they true? Consider these:
1. Nobody’s perfect. We throw this in like a white flag whenever we’re challenged about our pet sins. Since it usually stops the discussion, we assume God is buying it too. However, scripture says something quite the opposite: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do (1 Peter 1:15). “…work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). While nobody will reach perfection in this life, true Christ-followers repent rather than excuse. Of course, nobody’s perfect. But that’s no reason to stop reaching for it.
2. No sin is worse than any other. This phrase popped up in Christian circles when sexual perversion became mainstream. In an effort to be accepting, the church has become tolerant of the depravities for which God flooded the entire world. While any sin is enough to keep us from the presence of God, not all sins are the same.
For example, Jesus said that lust is as sinful as adultery. Yet, ask a wife whether her husband’s lustful thoughts do as much damage as an affair. Jesus said that hate is as bad as murder. But any parent of a murdered child will tell you that murder is worse than the killer’s hatred.
Sin is still sin, but not all sin is the same. Jesus implied that even hell’s punishment varies according to the level of evil committed (Luke 10:12, 14). Some sins ARE worse than others and we should not be afraid to say it. Rape is worse than grumbling. Sexual immorality is worse than stealing a stick of gum. Slander is worse than thinking jealous thoughts. While we are all sinners, some sin is far worse, even in God’s sight, than others. And the greatest condemnation seems to be reserved for people who know what’s right but refuse to repent (Luke 12:47-48).
3. No one can judge me. OF COURSE we can judge you. We constantly judge in order to make wise decisions. We judge whether or not the men wearing gang colors should be trusted. We judge whether or not our child can spend time with the new neighbor. We judge whether the sloppy-looking, foul-mouthed kid who showed up late would be a good employee. Christians are actually commanded to judge the actions of others who profess to be Christians (1 Corinthians 5:11-13). We don’t have the authority to judge another person’s soul or pronounce final condemnation. But if we truly care about people, we will use good judgment to evaluate whether their words match their actions and try to turn them in the right direction (James 5:20).
4. We’re all broken. Yes, we are, but let’s stop making a career out of it. It’s trendy to be “a hot mess,” but are we supposed to remain one? If we’ve surrendered our lives to the lordship of Jesus, He heals that brokenness. We’re all works in progress, at different levels of maturity, but too often we hide behind “broken places” as though to say, “You’d better get used to that about me, because that’s just how I am.” (See #1) When we get comfortable with those broken places, instead of allowing God to heal them, we never grow past them.
5. I love Jesus but… If a “but” follows “I love Jesus,” then the “but” is our real love. What that statement indicates is that we’ve carved out our own little niche where we can protect the un-Christlike parts of our personality that we intend to keep. We either love Jesus and want to conform to His word, or we love ourselves and our failures more, assuming that He will have to get used to it.
6. I’m a _________ -Christian (black, female, gay, progressive, etc.) We’ve grown attached to hyphenated labels, but whatever comes first in the hyphenation is our primary identity. God did not save us to be a church filled with hyphenated believers. Sometimes those hyphenations are a contradiction in terms and we use them as a warning to anyone who would challenge our claim to faith in Christ. That’s dangerous. To be a real Christian is to be a disciple of Jesus (Acts 11:26). No hyphens, because there is no other accurate definition.
7. God won’t give you more than you can handle. Of course He does. Often life itself is more than we can handle. The entire Bible is a plea from God to humanity to turn to Him, let Him fight our battles, trust Him for our needs, honor Him with our lives so He can bless us. Events happen that crush us, destroy our self-confidence. But often in those moments when we’ve been given more than we can handle, we discover that Jesus is more than enough to get us through.
8. Believe in yourself. In the last decade, there’s been a decided shift in popular Christianity away from “believe in God” to “believe in how great God will make you.” Even new worship songs focus on God’s goodness as it relates to me. The theme seems to be that God exists only to benefit my life and if I don’t see any way He’s benefitting me, I don’t need Him. The word GOD has even been subtly redefined to mean that part of myself that is wise, noble, caring, and worthy of praise.
Jesus actually said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
9. “No weapon formed against you will prosper…” This wonderful promise from Isaiah 54:17 has been spread so thin it has lost all power. If a parent told her child, “I will pick you up after school and take you for ice cream,” is she addressing that to the entire school? It’s a wonderful promise to a specific child. So it is with most of God’s promises. They are directed to God’s servants, His people, those called by His name to live separate from the worldliness around them. Isaiah 54:17 ends with such specificity: “…This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. Their vindication is from me, says the Lord.” Those who are NOT servants of the Lord have no right to this verse.
10. We’re all God’s children. No, we’re not. We are all God’s creations, made in His image, loved by Him because of that. But we BECOME God’s children when we are adopted by Him through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf (John 1:12). Before that time, the only scriptures we can claim are those telling us to repent and be saved. After we are adopted by Him, the rest of the Bible is a love letter written to us by our Father.
Be careful what twisted phrases make their way into your heart. Check them all against the totality of God’s word and reject any that Jesus would reject.
1. Nobody’s perfect. We throw this in like a white flag whenever we’re challenged about our pet sins. Since it usually stops the discussion, we assume God is buying it too. However, scripture says something quite the opposite: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do (1 Peter 1:15). “…work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). While nobody will reach perfection in this life, true Christ-followers repent rather than excuse. Of course, nobody’s perfect. But that’s no reason to stop reaching for it.
2. No sin is worse than any other. This phrase popped up in Christian circles when sexual perversion became mainstream. In an effort to be accepting, the church has become tolerant of the depravities for which God flooded the entire world. While any sin is enough to keep us from the presence of God, not all sins are the same.
For example, Jesus said that lust is as sinful as adultery. Yet, ask a wife whether her husband’s lustful thoughts do as much damage as an affair. Jesus said that hate is as bad as murder. But any parent of a murdered child will tell you that murder is worse than the killer’s hatred.
Sin is still sin, but not all sin is the same. Jesus implied that even hell’s punishment varies according to the level of evil committed (Luke 10:12, 14). Some sins ARE worse than others and we should not be afraid to say it. Rape is worse than grumbling. Sexual immorality is worse than stealing a stick of gum. Slander is worse than thinking jealous thoughts. While we are all sinners, some sin is far worse, even in God’s sight, than others. And the greatest condemnation seems to be reserved for people who know what’s right but refuse to repent (Luke 12:47-48).
3. No one can judge me. OF COURSE we can judge you. We constantly judge in order to make wise decisions. We judge whether or not the men wearing gang colors should be trusted. We judge whether or not our child can spend time with the new neighbor. We judge whether the sloppy-looking, foul-mouthed kid who showed up late would be a good employee. Christians are actually commanded to judge the actions of others who profess to be Christians (1 Corinthians 5:11-13). We don’t have the authority to judge another person’s soul or pronounce final condemnation. But if we truly care about people, we will use good judgment to evaluate whether their words match their actions and try to turn them in the right direction (James 5:20).
4. We’re all broken. Yes, we are, but let’s stop making a career out of it. It’s trendy to be “a hot mess,” but are we supposed to remain one? If we’ve surrendered our lives to the lordship of Jesus, He heals that brokenness. We’re all works in progress, at different levels of maturity, but too often we hide behind “broken places” as though to say, “You’d better get used to that about me, because that’s just how I am.” (See #1) When we get comfortable with those broken places, instead of allowing God to heal them, we never grow past them.
5. I love Jesus but… If a “but” follows “I love Jesus,” then the “but” is our real love. What that statement indicates is that we’ve carved out our own little niche where we can protect the un-Christlike parts of our personality that we intend to keep. We either love Jesus and want to conform to His word, or we love ourselves and our failures more, assuming that He will have to get used to it.
6. I’m a _________ -Christian (black, female, gay, progressive, etc.) We’ve grown attached to hyphenated labels, but whatever comes first in the hyphenation is our primary identity. God did not save us to be a church filled with hyphenated believers. Sometimes those hyphenations are a contradiction in terms and we use them as a warning to anyone who would challenge our claim to faith in Christ. That’s dangerous. To be a real Christian is to be a disciple of Jesus (Acts 11:26). No hyphens, because there is no other accurate definition.
7. God won’t give you more than you can handle. Of course He does. Often life itself is more than we can handle. The entire Bible is a plea from God to humanity to turn to Him, let Him fight our battles, trust Him for our needs, honor Him with our lives so He can bless us. Events happen that crush us, destroy our self-confidence. But often in those moments when we’ve been given more than we can handle, we discover that Jesus is more than enough to get us through.
8. Believe in yourself. In the last decade, there’s been a decided shift in popular Christianity away from “believe in God” to “believe in how great God will make you.” Even new worship songs focus on God’s goodness as it relates to me. The theme seems to be that God exists only to benefit my life and if I don’t see any way He’s benefitting me, I don’t need Him. The word GOD has even been subtly redefined to mean that part of myself that is wise, noble, caring, and worthy of praise.
Jesus actually said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
9. “No weapon formed against you will prosper…” This wonderful promise from Isaiah 54:17 has been spread so thin it has lost all power. If a parent told her child, “I will pick you up after school and take you for ice cream,” is she addressing that to the entire school? It’s a wonderful promise to a specific child. So it is with most of God’s promises. They are directed to God’s servants, His people, those called by His name to live separate from the worldliness around them. Isaiah 54:17 ends with such specificity: “…This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. Their vindication is from me, says the Lord.” Those who are NOT servants of the Lord have no right to this verse.
10. We’re all God’s children. No, we’re not. We are all God’s creations, made in His image, loved by Him because of that. But we BECOME God’s children when we are adopted by Him through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf (John 1:12). Before that time, the only scriptures we can claim are those telling us to repent and be saved. After we are adopted by Him, the rest of the Bible is a love letter written to us by our Father.
Be careful what twisted phrases make their way into your heart. Check them all against the totality of God’s word and reject any that Jesus would reject.