Val's Email Sunday School: What Does it Mean to be Christian

One thing I often think about is the current trend of many to want the government to care for the poor, eliminate poverty, and have a more equitable society. Others on the opposite side of the spectrum also want to care for the poor, eliminate poverty, and have a more equitable society, but don’t want the government to be the entity that does it. Why do these groups of people think that they are so polar opposite when the stated goals are identical? Why are groups of people with similar goals at odds with one another? I can’t help but think about this as I read Christ’s teachings, which always admonish us to love one another, to care for the poor, to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and to care for the sick and afflicted.  

While people may disagree on how to reach these goals, ultimately the goals are identical. Many of the individuals that some decry as just wanting “free stuff” are expressing desires to live in the very type of society that Christ articulates as ideal. The irony of this isn’t lost. If to be Christian means to follow Christ’s teachings, then to be a true Christian would be to devote your life to alleviating human suffering (by caring for the poor, sick, needy, down trodden, etc). Are any of us living up to the promises we made? If not, what should we do better? If you want to follow the teachings of Christ and dedicate yourself to the betterment of mankind, then “what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?” To be baptized is an outward and deliberate display by an individual that they intend to follow Christ. In the words of the reading today, those who were baptized “took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.” Those who were baptized call themselves Christians. They take Christ’s name upon them, and they commit to serving him. They commit to loving one another, to caring for one another, and to even loving their enemies. 

Now, one does not even necessarily have to believe in the divinity of Christ to commit to following the principles he taught. If being baptized means ascribing to the values and principles that Christ taught, then choosing to become Christian should mean something very specific in terms of how one lives and not even necessarily someone’s religious beliefs. Perhaps there’s a spectrum of Christianity as well. Regardless, ascribing the word “Christian” to someone should mean something very specific about the type of person someone is and the type of life that person lives. 

Christians meet together often to “be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer. . .” They meet to learn God’s words, to try to make sure they are living the best way possible, to pray together. It says that “the church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray, and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.” When we think of the word soul, lots of times people think about hellfire, or damnation, or the standing of their “self” in relation to heaven or hell. I’d like to change this perspective a little and think more in terms of the happy or miserable state of the self. When we think of “soul food” or something like being out in nature being good for our “soul” we are talking more about an internal happiness, peace, or satisfaction in our deepest being.

We’ve talked in the past about how the dictionary definition of a “church” is defined as a people of specific beliefs meeting together to teach and to learn. It isn’t what the words have been twisted to mean today. Now when many think of religion or churches, it brings to mind hypocrites and dogmatic beliefs preached by leaders to control their followers who aren’t allowed to, or don’t know to, question what they’re taught. Instead, the reading tells us that the people who believe in the teachings of Christ meet together often to learn and teach each other, and to check on how everyone’s doing. Makes sense. How can you care for the emotional, temporal, or soul needs of others without checking in on them?

Lots of times I feel very frustrated with people because they seem to dismiss religion and religious people as stupid, blind sheep or fanatics. They don’t appear to want God, religion, prayer, or Christ in their lives at all. However, if I consider their stated desires, it does appear that our goals are actually the same. We really do want the same things. We just disagree about the paths to get there. If this is the case, and many people yearn for the teachings and outcomes of following Christ, then it seems like maybe we need to set better examples of living the things he taught. If we can, in our families and communities, show the world how to care for the poor, the sick, the afflicted, the needy, the naked, etc, then maybe that’s it means to be a light to the world. I hope that all of us can live the things we profess to believe, and that we can try to bring about the changes we want to see in the world. “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”