When you're under attack by fellow Christ followers.

I've been wanting to write a post about how to be more Christ-like and what that means. I'm still working on the Marriage Roles post because let's face it, there's a lot to talk about when it comes to marriage! So I am still trucking away on that one! 

Anyways, something happened to me recently in a Christian community that I am apart of on Facebook that just gave me the perfect example of what's it's like to NOT be Christ-like as a Christian; and how damaging that can be to fellow Christians you will encounter.  

When you are a true follower of Christ you will come under attack frequently. If you're not being persecuted then you're probably doing something wrong. Not everyone agreed with Jesus, I mean look how that ended, He was crucified for claiming to be exactly who He is. So as followers of Him, people won't always agree with us and they will find ways to attack you or find your flaws and try to exploit them. 

Well before I get into my little story about what happened to me, let me just tell you that as a Christian I am the farthest thing from perfect. That's the point of accepting Jesus as your personal savior! You are realizing that you're a flawed, imperfect, sinful human being that NEEDS Jesus! Well that's me!!! I am a flawed, imperfect, sinner! I do my absolute best every day to follow Jesus and abide by His word because it's my choice to do so, but that by no means makes me perfect! I don't pretend to be and I will never claim to be. Just to clear that misconception up! 

So back to my point, I am part of a Facebook group that is meant for Christian wives. When I joined this group I was doing so in hopes of encountering biblically grounded women who would give advice that stems from biblically sound doctrine, sisters in Christ. Not perfect people, but like minded people who love Jesus the way I do and recognize that as a Christian they are proclaiming to be a sinner, saved by God's grace. 

Without delving into all of the unnecessary details that would make this post way longer than it's already going to be, the basic gist of what happened is this. 

There was a video that got shared onto the Christian Facebook group, The video was of people blatantly disrespecting our Vice President. The post got heated very quickly with people arguing about whether or not it was considered wrong or disrespectful. 

One comment on the video just stuck out to me like a sore thumb. This woman's comment said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with it then she questioned her position in the group based on the comments of people who disagreed with her. This stood out to me because this is a Christian group. Where we are supposed to share BIBLICAL view points. I firmly believe if you are a Christian in a group of over 8,000 people who are also claiming to be Christians then you better be sharing your thoughts from a biblical point of view or you might be better off not saying anything. The point of groups like this are to bring Christ followers closer together and help those that are struggling with their faith from the approach of biblical reasoning and ideas. 

*side note: this particular group also allows people in that are not Christian for the sake of witnessing to those who need Jesus. Just another reason NOT to share your opinions with people that are searching for Jesus if your opinion doesn't line up with the word of God!*

So in response to her comment, I posted SCRIPTURE to back up WHY the behavior in the video was distasteful. 

Titus 3:1-2 

Romans 13:1-2

She did not like that. She attempted to save face by responding and saying that she wasn't going to debate it with me and she had her opinion. To which I just kindly explained to her the same point I made above. If your opinions don't line up with the Bible, maybe don't share them in a Christian group. 

This is where the part happens that is not Christ like and I thank God that this woman did this to me and not someone who was struggling with their relationship with God. As Christians we can and should hold each other accountable for not following the Bible. That is, IF you know that this person isn't following the Bible. Someone you don't know over the internet is not someone you should crucify over things that again, are based on your opinion rather than the Bible. 

This woman found it necessary, since she disagreed with the scripture I shared, to stalk my Facebook profile and go back two years to a picture of me holding an alcohol beverage, posing with my sister, celebrating my first drink with her as a 21 year old. She took a screenshot of this picture and then sent it to me in a private message with text attached that said:

"Keep on "being the church" dear. Maybe you should evaluate how you portray yourself since you're so biblically based 🤣" 

Then she blocked me so I couldn't respond. So here is my response to you ma'am. 

1. The picture that you went 2 years back on my page to find was taken before I was a follower of Christ and even if it wasn't, there is NOTHING biblically wrong with alcohol unless you are abusing it. I am not a drunkard. Which you wouldn't know from looking at one picture from 2 years ago. 

2. This was during a time of celebration. I turned 21 years old. I could legally do something and wasn't living near my sister during the time of my birthday. So when we were reunited we celebrated with a drink. With ONE drink. 

3. If you don't know someone's personal walk with Christ, you shouldn't make such quick and harsh comments. Especially over the internet. I could have been an addict, overcoming my addiction when you made this comment. I could have been an addict, struggling with taking another drink when you made this comment. I thank God that I am a strong Christian, grounded in my faith and understanding of the Lord that something like this could have torn someone else down, didn't do that to me. 

I'm sorry but if THIS is how people of Christ are acting towards each other, then there is SERIOUSLY something wrong with the Christians of today. We are supposed to be imitating the SAME LOVE that Jesus did. We are called to lift others up and be Christ like towards everyone! 

Also, to address it before it even comes up, I do feel this is a very appropriate forum to discuss what happened. People who read my blog are usually other Christians so I am making this issue known so that you can see that as a Christ follower this is not the way we should be treating each other. Sending hate filled messages to your fellow believer with the intent of tearing them down? It's just crossing a line. 

The following scriptures all speak directly to accountability of fellow Christians for their actions and some of them speak directly to the way I was mistreated by this woman. 

1 John 4:21 

Matthew 7:1-2

James 1:19

Galatians 6:1-2

Hebrews 10:24 

1 Thessalonians 5:11

1 Corinthians 12 (highlights the important of strong accountability between believers) 

Please remember that even as an imperfect lover of Jesus, you still need to be aware of how you treat people. NO ONE is asking you or telling you to be perfect, just to be more aware of your words and your actions. 

As a follower of Christ my number one goal is to show people what His love is and how they can find it. Jesus saves and that is the most important thing to lead other too! I can't do that if I'm being hateful towards others, like minded or not, and neither can you.