written by Chase Hawkins
edited by Peter Burleigh
This summer, I will spend seven weeks in Tiger, Georgia at Camp Covecrest serving as a summer missionary for Life Teen. Life Teen is a Catholic organization that aims to “lead teens closer to Christ”. They are known primarily for formulating the curriculum for many parish youth groups around the U.S., hosting Steubenville youth conferences over the summer, and hosting summer camps in Georgia and California. All of their various missions aim to provide teens with their own personal encounter with Christ (you can learn more at http://lifeteen.com/ and follow them on social media!)
Part of my preparation for this summer mission includes recognizing I am first and foremost a servant of God and those who I will minister to. I will be paid some for the work I do, but only a limited amount raised through donations of mission partners. This aims to show the summer missionaries that the work that will be done is primarily service to God and to others, not necessarily a summer job. This is important because Christianity emphasizes the importance of service.
In my theology course, the class debated the claim that to be a good Christian, one must actively fight for social justice. There were many factors to this claim that were up for debate. First, we needed to define a “good Christian” – is there a scale of Christianity? A hierarchy? Can someone be a better Christian than others? Next, we needed to address “actively fight” – does this mean fighting at all times? Lastly, we needed to define “social justice” – does this only include equality and care for the poor? Or, does this also include being just to those around us? About half of the class (myself included) argued that this claim was generally true. The other half argued that it was generally false.
Since this claim came from an excerpt from “A Theology of Liberation” by Gustavo Gutierrez, there was not too much room for adjustment of the claim. However, for our purposes here, I would like to adjust the claim and argue for the importance of service in a Christian’s life.
My new claim would read, “to be a good Christian, one must always be in service to others.””. If you read one of my more recent blog posts, What is the Purpose of Humanity?, you’ll have some background on why I believe that the purpose of humanity is to give of oneself to others.
One of the main arguments from the opponents’ side in my theology class generally came in a threefold manner: (1) we cannot define what being a “good Christian” is, (2) if a person does not fight for social justice, how are they a “bad Christian”? and (3) Christianity at its core is about accepting Jesus into one’s heart, not necessarily about serving others. Looking at these arguments quickly, they don’t seem too far off. But let’s take a closer look and see if we can debunk these arguments:
POINT #1: We cannot define what being a “good Christian” is.
COUNTER: We absolutely CAN define what being a “good Christian” is! Christians literally have a perfect (and divine!) model to follow. The namesake of Christianity, that is, JESUS CHRIST, was the perfect Christian. Jesus is the entire reason that Christianity exists. The Christian credo implores the faithful believers to model their life after Jesus’ and to walk with Him as His disciples. There is absolutely no subjectivity to how a Christian should live their life spiritually. The more Christ-like we become, the better of a Christ-follower (Christian) we become. One opponent in class stated that being a good Christian might be different for each person. This could not be further from the truth! Sure, people live out their faith in different ways, but at the core of Christianity, being a good Christian simply means following Jesus as closely as possible. I would like to clarify here that Christianity is not an imitation game. Rather, if we’re talking in terms of games, Christianity is more of a self-actualization game where we become more of our self by becoming more Christ-like.
Although there are many, many Christian denominations, there is ONE Christian tradition and that stems from the ONE Jesus Christ. A Christian must follow Jesus. Period. That is what Christianity is. To make this easy to conceptualize, the life of a Christian can be broken into two very basic categories: private and public. In both of these categories a person is still a Christian. However, a person should never claim to be a Christian “only in private” by hiding away your prayers and keeping your spirituality silent. If Jesus Christ died for you in public, shouldn’t you live for Him in public as well? A true Christian goes out into the world and displays their Christianity, but not in a flashy way. The way a Christian leads his/her life should be enough indication that this person is a disciple of Jesus Christ. St. Francis of Assisi is often mistakenly quoted with saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” Regardless of who actually said this, it still rings true for Christians: our actions are often more important in spreading the Gospel than our thoughts or words.
So, back to the two categories, if we can agree that a full Christian life encompasses not only one’s private prayer life but also one’s public life. Wouldn’t it make sense that a person who has a solid relationship with Jesus and goes out and loves and serves their neighbor is more of a Christian fundamentally than a person who has a solid relationship with Jesus but does nothing about it? This also works for someone who goes out and loves and serves their neighbor but does not have a relationship with Jesus – wouldn’t it be safe to say that they are not as Christian as someone who loves, serves, and has a relationship with Jesus? This is not to say that those who do go out and share the faith are more worthy of love. No, we are all God’s beloved children and nothing will change that. Our worth as the disciples of Christ is not based in what we do, it is not utilitarian, but we are more of the Christian we ought to be when we live the life prescribed by the Christ in the Gospels. He said to go forth and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). He did not say that we should only pray quietly, keep our heads down, and keep any joy to ourselves. This brings me to the next point.
POINT #2: If a person does not fight for social justice, how are they can they be a “bad Christian”?
COUNTER: To answer this, I would like to first make the statement that a bad Christian is not necessarily a bad person! Exhibit A: Mahatma Gandhi. No one today would argue that Mahatma Gandhi was a bad person. He was not a bad person by any means! But was he a good Christian? No! As a Hindu, Gandhi did not invoke a relationship with Jesus. You see? But, Gandhi did live out many values that correlate with the Christian faith. He desired to fix unjust structures by protesting the oppressive British government; he believed in principles of nonviolence and community. He undeniably went out into the world and made a difference by loving and serving his neighbors, but he lacked a personal relationship with Jesus, which is why he was not a “good Christian”. Was he a bad person? Certainly not. Was he a bad Christian? We might suggest yes.
And so, with these things in place, we can conclude that, yes, there really is a “spectrum” of Christianity if you will. There are various levels of how good of a Christian a person can be. And just because someone is a better Christian than another, this does not necessarily mean that the Christian is a better person (although, by definition it should be true that a good Christian is a good person).
POINT #3: Christianity at its core is about accepting Jesus into one’s heart, not necessarily about serving others.
COUNTER: There is no dispute that the core of Christianity is accepting Jesus into your heart. This is not the issue with this argument that I would like to straighten out. My counterargument to this is that part of accepting Jesus is having a desire to serve others and having the will to actually do so. If you plan to accept Jesus into your heart, you must accept the fullness of the real Jesus. You cannot put Jesus into a mold that is most convenient to you because He will not fit. When we try and confine Something which is bigger than us to a theory we have (i.e. “God is the bearded man in the sky”) we are selling Him short and effectually binding ourselves. If we try and make God fit into one spot, we’re disenfranchising Him and allowing ourselves to be secluded.
If you only accept the part of Jesus who said to not judge (Matthew 7:1), you’re forgetting that Jesus condemned the sin of the adulterous woman and said, “I do not condemn you, but go and from now on do not sin any more” (paraphrased from John 8:11). If you only want to accept the part of Jesus that prayed to His Father in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-39), you’re forgetting that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and said, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (John 13: 15).
Part of my preparation for this summer mission includes recognizing I am first and foremost a servant of God and those who I will minister to. I will be paid some for the work I do, but only a limited amount raised through donations of mission partners. This aims to show the summer missionaries that the work that will be done is primarily service to God and to others, not necessarily a summer job. This is important because Christianity emphasizes the importance of service.
In my theology course, the class debated the claim that to be a good Christian, one must actively fight for social justice. There were many factors to this claim that were up for debate. First, we needed to define a “good Christian” – is there a scale of Christianity? A hierarchy? Can someone be a better Christian than others? Next, we needed to address “actively fight” – does this mean fighting at all times? Lastly, we needed to define “social justice” – does this only include equality and care for the poor? Or, does this also include being just to those around us? About half of the class (myself included) argued that this claim was generally true. The other half argued that it was generally false.
Since this claim came from an excerpt from “A Theology of Liberation” by Gustavo Gutierrez, there was not too much room for adjustment of the claim. However, for our purposes here, I would like to adjust the claim and argue for the importance of service in a Christian’s life.
My new claim would read, “to be a good Christian, one must always be in service to others.””. If you read one of my more recent blog posts, What is the Purpose of Humanity?, you’ll have some background on why I believe that the purpose of humanity is to give of oneself to others.
One of the main arguments from the opponents’ side in my theology class generally came in a threefold manner: (1) we cannot define what being a “good Christian” is, (2) if a person does not fight for social justice, how are they a “bad Christian”? and (3) Christianity at its core is about accepting Jesus into one’s heart, not necessarily about serving others. Looking at these arguments quickly, they don’t seem too far off. But let’s take a closer look and see if we can debunk these arguments:
POINT #1: We cannot define what being a “good Christian” is.
COUNTER: We absolutely CAN define what being a “good Christian” is! Christians literally have a perfect (and divine!) model to follow. The namesake of Christianity, that is, JESUS CHRIST, was the perfect Christian. Jesus is the entire reason that Christianity exists. The Christian credo implores the faithful believers to model their life after Jesus’ and to walk with Him as His disciples. There is absolutely no subjectivity to how a Christian should live their life spiritually. The more Christ-like we become, the better of a Christ-follower (Christian) we become. One opponent in class stated that being a good Christian might be different for each person. This could not be further from the truth! Sure, people live out their faith in different ways, but at the core of Christianity, being a good Christian simply means following Jesus as closely as possible. I would like to clarify here that Christianity is not an imitation game. Rather, if we’re talking in terms of games, Christianity is more of a self-actualization game where we become more of our self by becoming more Christ-like.
Although there are many, many Christian denominations, there is ONE Christian tradition and that stems from the ONE Jesus Christ. A Christian must follow Jesus. Period. That is what Christianity is. To make this easy to conceptualize, the life of a Christian can be broken into two very basic categories: private and public. In both of these categories a person is still a Christian. However, a person should never claim to be a Christian “only in private” by hiding away your prayers and keeping your spirituality silent. If Jesus Christ died for you in public, shouldn’t you live for Him in public as well? A true Christian goes out into the world and displays their Christianity, but not in a flashy way. The way a Christian leads his/her life should be enough indication that this person is a disciple of Jesus Christ. St. Francis of Assisi is often mistakenly quoted with saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” Regardless of who actually said this, it still rings true for Christians: our actions are often more important in spreading the Gospel than our thoughts or words.
So, back to the two categories, if we can agree that a full Christian life encompasses not only one’s private prayer life but also one’s public life. Wouldn’t it make sense that a person who has a solid relationship with Jesus and goes out and loves and serves their neighbor is more of a Christian fundamentally than a person who has a solid relationship with Jesus but does nothing about it? This also works for someone who goes out and loves and serves their neighbor but does not have a relationship with Jesus – wouldn’t it be safe to say that they are not as Christian as someone who loves, serves, and has a relationship with Jesus? This is not to say that those who do go out and share the faith are more worthy of love. No, we are all God’s beloved children and nothing will change that. Our worth as the disciples of Christ is not based in what we do, it is not utilitarian, but we are more of the Christian we ought to be when we live the life prescribed by the Christ in the Gospels. He said to go forth and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). He did not say that we should only pray quietly, keep our heads down, and keep any joy to ourselves. This brings me to the next point.
POINT #2: If a person does not fight for social justice, how are they can they be a “bad Christian”?
COUNTER: To answer this, I would like to first make the statement that a bad Christian is not necessarily a bad person! Exhibit A: Mahatma Gandhi. No one today would argue that Mahatma Gandhi was a bad person. He was not a bad person by any means! But was he a good Christian? No! As a Hindu, Gandhi did not invoke a relationship with Jesus. You see? But, Gandhi did live out many values that correlate with the Christian faith. He desired to fix unjust structures by protesting the oppressive British government; he believed in principles of nonviolence and community. He undeniably went out into the world and made a difference by loving and serving his neighbors, but he lacked a personal relationship with Jesus, which is why he was not a “good Christian”. Was he a bad person? Certainly not. Was he a bad Christian? We might suggest yes.
And so, with these things in place, we can conclude that, yes, there really is a “spectrum” of Christianity if you will. There are various levels of how good of a Christian a person can be. And just because someone is a better Christian than another, this does not necessarily mean that the Christian is a better person (although, by definition it should be true that a good Christian is a good person).
POINT #3: Christianity at its core is about accepting Jesus into one’s heart, not necessarily about serving others.
COUNTER: There is no dispute that the core of Christianity is accepting Jesus into your heart. This is not the issue with this argument that I would like to straighten out. My counterargument to this is that part of accepting Jesus is having a desire to serve others and having the will to actually do so. If you plan to accept Jesus into your heart, you must accept the fullness of the real Jesus. You cannot put Jesus into a mold that is most convenient to you because He will not fit. When we try and confine Something which is bigger than us to a theory we have (i.e. “God is the bearded man in the sky”) we are selling Him short and effectually binding ourselves. If we try and make God fit into one spot, we’re disenfranchising Him and allowing ourselves to be secluded.
If you only accept the part of Jesus who said to not judge (Matthew 7:1), you’re forgetting that Jesus condemned the sin of the adulterous woman and said, “I do not condemn you, but go and from now on do not sin any more” (paraphrased from John 8:11). If you only want to accept the part of Jesus that prayed to His Father in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-39), you’re forgetting that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and said, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (John 13: 15).
Yes, you must accept Jesus into your heart, but you must remember that Jesus showed us the fullness of humanity! To accept Jesus into your heart, you must accept the fullness and truth of the real Jesus. Jesus is the same for all, yet He calls each of us individually and by name to love and serve Him and those around us.
You cannot adjust discipleship to have it fit into your schedule. Being a Christian, if we are doing it right, should absolutely wreck our lives and pull us out of our comfort zones. It should make us feel nervous that we're unequipped to share our faith and it should not allow us to make God what we want it to be. But God does not call those who are equipped, He equips the called. (N.B. it is all of us who are called!)
If Christianity did not scare us with its lofty goals of universal love, would it really be worth devoting our time? If the bar of sainthood were not so high, would it be worth it to climb? This would contradict what discipleship means! Following Jesus and accepting Him into your heart always requires sacrifice. That is why Jesus’ apostles had to drop their nets and their lives to follow Jesus.
In sum, we must accept Jesus into our hearts, but we must accept the entirety of Jesus into our hearts. And this entirety of Jesus includes a desire and will to serve others. It is not limited to deep, revelatory feelings or simple prayers, it includes a life of charitable aid. So, it naturally follows that in order to accept Jesus, we must accept service as well.
St. Francis of Assisi, ora pro nobis.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, ora pro nobis.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, ora pro nobis.
Dominus vobiscum
Chawkins.
"Ubi Caritas" by Audrey Assad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Pp0jKn1zQ
You cannot adjust discipleship to have it fit into your schedule. Being a Christian, if we are doing it right, should absolutely wreck our lives and pull us out of our comfort zones. It should make us feel nervous that we're unequipped to share our faith and it should not allow us to make God what we want it to be. But God does not call those who are equipped, He equips the called. (N.B. it is all of us who are called!)
If Christianity did not scare us with its lofty goals of universal love, would it really be worth devoting our time? If the bar of sainthood were not so high, would it be worth it to climb? This would contradict what discipleship means! Following Jesus and accepting Him into your heart always requires sacrifice. That is why Jesus’ apostles had to drop their nets and their lives to follow Jesus.
In sum, we must accept Jesus into our hearts, but we must accept the entirety of Jesus into our hearts. And this entirety of Jesus includes a desire and will to serve others. It is not limited to deep, revelatory feelings or simple prayers, it includes a life of charitable aid. So, it naturally follows that in order to accept Jesus, we must accept service as well.
St. Francis of Assisi, ora pro nobis.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, ora pro nobis.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, ora pro nobis.
Dominus vobiscum
Chawkins.
"Ubi Caritas" by Audrey Assad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Pp0jKn1zQ