When you are a sports fan, typically it is obvious to the world around you which team you are cheering for. It may be because of the team jersey or t-shirt you wear on game day, or possibly the fact that you talk about the big game and have the plays and team members’ names memorized. Whatever it is, you are probably not afraid to advertise it to the world around you.

Sadly, that isn’t always the case with our faith. For some reason, we often hide that part of our lives. Worse yet, we sometimes live a double life and act one way at church and an entirely different way at work or school. Unfortunately in my time in the business world, as well as my time in the classroom I have dealt with many “Christian” business people and students who really don’t act like it. I am also human, I know that I don’t always fit the description of a perfect Christian.

Why is it that we can be unwavering sports fans, but fail miserably sometimes to be unwavering in our Christian walk? Why do we feel embarrassed to pray in public, but not to scream and rejoice at our favorite team scoring a goal? What is it about humanity that anything related to our faith walk seems to sometimes be challenging? There seems to be a socially acceptable level of “Christianity” that is ok in certain settings, but don’t let that part of your life cross the line into the more secular parts of our lives.

What I love about the stories of Jesus in the Bible, is that regardless of the crowd he was with, he never changed. When he was around the prostitutes or other sinners, he didn’t try to fit in or be more permissible of the sins. Instead, he was loving and direct and rather than become more like the sinners he was around, they became more like him. I long to be more like that.

Sadly, I end up more like the Pharisees than Jesus most of the time. I either come across as judgemental or permissive. I tend to find myself becoming more like the sinners, rather than leading them to be more like Jesus. Even saying it like that is telling. When I refer to others as sinners it shows a part of myself that I despise. It shows the judgemental parts of me that create an “us vs them” mentality. It reveals just how much I am like the Pharisee in the parable Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14 NLT:

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:  “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’  I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

My prayer is that I would learn to be more humble sooner rather than later and live a genuine faith regardless of the audience. I have been hurt too many times by people like the Pharisee who “exalt themselves” that I don’t want to do the same thing to others. I don’t want to think of myself as more highly than I ought and I definitely don’t want to be hypocritical in my faith. Instead, I want to, like Jesus, be willing to dine with traitors and wash the feet of the people who I know will likely turn their back on me, without a second thought.

“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” Romans 12:3