The (Christian) Jerk

Let's be real honest about something...the world is full of jerks. People who think they are IT. You can find these people anywhere.

Married man ... sometimes is a jerk.

Boss ... sometimes a jerk.

Drunk sports fan ... generally a jerk.

Steve Martin ... in 1979.

Me ... more times than I'd like to admit.

But, this week I had my first real encounter with a terrible kind of jerk. The kind that claims he has a relationship with Jesus. The kind that attends church each time the door is open. The kind that is a pastor.

The details about what led to the jerk-dom are irrelevant. Suffice it to say that this pastor posted something nasty and uncalled for on my Facebook wall regarding a personnel decision my employer made. I removed the offending posts, and attempted to converse via private message, but quickly learned that he was only bent on venting his anger. I was the target of the moment.

Fortunate for me, I suppose, he deactivated his account before I could become a jerk. I was ready to fire my salvo of comebacks, but he saved me from ruining my reputation.

Now, I fully understand that folks inside and outside an organization are going to be curious when personnel changes occur, but EVERYONE should understand that the remaining employees are not allowed to talk about it. Of all the people in the world who should understand this are pastors. They have to keep all sorts of things private (including personnel moves) even when the rest of the church is clamoring to find out the gossip. I'm going to post more on this subject in the future, but let's just leave it there for now.

Back to the Christian jerk, because I think it's a very important topic that needs some air. I have witnessed Christian jerks do their best to destroy other Christians and pastors, even going so far as to completely embarrass themselves in order to complete the havoc their heart is bent on wrecking.

I have heard many references by non-Christians about the bad attitudes and experiences they have had in dealing with people claiming salvation in Jesus. I've often wondered if it was really that bad.

Enter this week's experience. My first as the victim of a Christian hit-and-run. Now, I have seen for myself why a growing number of people in the world do not like Christianity. They aren't mad at Jesus. They don't like His followers.

The world KNOWS that Christ's followers are supposed to be different. I don't think the world expects us to be pansies, but I do think the world knows that we are supposed to have different motives. That our purposes are different than the rest of society.

Instead, the world is seeing, with increasing frequency, Christians who live just like they do:

sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility,
quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension,
division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. --Galatians 5:19b-21a

The Apostle Paul follows this list with the way Christ's followers should be living:

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control. --Galatians 5:22b-23a

It's the stark contrast that makes Christian jerks stand out. It's this contrast that convinces the world that Jesus must not be for them. Paul follows the "fruits of the spirit" list with an encouragement for Christ-followers to live this way and to not fall into the trap of the first list.

And, to top it off, Paul also adds, "Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life (the first list) will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21b)" I'm just saying.