We’re Too Bratty & Hard To Please

Is it just me, or are Christians far too easily offended? It seems like there are an awful lot of really “thin-skinned” believers, and modern culture and technology provide them with an unprecedented number of places to vent their wrath. Social media, reality TV, the internet, and talk shows all offer platforms to puff up our feelings of self-importance and fuel our self-righteous attitudes. It seems incredibly reflective of our idolatrous society that even Christians have become bratty and hard to please. I’ve eaten out at a restaurant with a Christian friend who berates a waitress for bringing the wrong dish and then decides to write a scathing online review for everyone to read. Where are grace and mercy?

It’s Embarrassing

It’s really embarrassing when compared to the real persecution that believers face in other parts of the world. I mean, what else might be on that poor waitress’s mind? A severely ill spouse? Up all night with a baby? Why aren’t we asking—with genuine concern—if they’re okay? Why not offer to pray with her? This behavior is epidemic, and surveys are revealing that one of the main reasons the lost aren’t coming to church is because of the conduct of those who claim to be following Jesus. Instead of enhancing the gospel of Christ, as Jesus intends, we’re part of the problem.

We’re Too Easily Offended

Several years ago, one of my best friends in ministry was fighting a battle for his pastoral life because he “dared” to lovingly confront a mom and dad over their out-of-control toddler, who screams during the entire worship service, and they refuse to take him out. They were “offended” that he would ask them to remove the screaming child for the benefit of the rest of the faith community. I remember a Thursday morning men’s small group from a few years back, and one of our members mentioned that of all the people he’s known who have left the church over the last twenty-some years since his conversion, no more than three or four actually had biblical grounds for leaving. The rest left over purely selfish reasons. And one day they will stand before the One who was beaten, mocked, spit upon, and finally hung on a cross to die, and hear, “You left your church over that? Really? Go get a cross and deny yourself!” 

Loving Others

We need to beat the drum to love others. We need to preach that message better and more often, because most in the church today just don’t get it. We need to preach and teach the church how to love others selflessly and assume personal responsibility to deal with personal sin, resolve conflict, and restore wounded relationships. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi: “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” — Philippians 2:4  That last line is perhaps the most significant. If we’re going to be part of the solution, church, we have to “look also for the interests of others.” Don’t just focus on your own interests, Paul says. We need to be rescued from our idol of narcissism, church.