Am I A "Jerky Christian?"

I’m a Christian, and sometimes I’m a jerk. There. I’ve said it. Those who know me well know this to be true...sometimes. I’ve been thinking about a post on CNN’s website that I saw by Jonathan Acuff, who writes the blog www.stuffchristianslike.net and recently released the book "Stuff Christians Like." He talks about how bitter we Christians are online. We are the first to shoot our wounded and the first to correct our brother…through Christ, of course. In other words, there are some of us who are jerks online but show a different face to the rest of the world

I’ve heard it said that real life is offline. This is true. Yet, with social media, it’s so easy to do what I like to call a “hit and run,” which for me, is a snarky little comment on a Facebook post, news story, etc. I’m pretty sure Jesus would like me to represent myself the same online, at work, and with my family. There are days that I am better at this than others.

In John 13:34-35 Jesus says: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love God, love people. It’s pretty simple, right? Not for me! I remember, my pastor describing Church as a giant table where we are all trying to be fed. Sometimes, we bump elbows with each other and they are jerks. We bump into them and we become jerks. The fact is, we all fall short of the glory of God. Am I the same Christian on Wednesday as I am Sunday at 11 A.M.? Not always. Often, I have to make the same stupid mistakes over and over again.

I have to remember people are watching me. I have to remember the thing that turned me off of Christianity before I became a Christian was the hypocrisy I saw. I have to remember not to be a jerk today.

Check out Jonathan’s post here. Let me know what you think.


--Jack