Being a Christian in America is Harder Than Anywhere Else in the World

I’m going to make a statement that might make you literally say “What the _________” (where the blank is your favorite exclamation).  In fact, I have already uttered the statement, since it’s in the title.  But for drama’s sake, here is the statement just rephrased for emphasis: Living the Christian life in America is much harder than in any other country in the world.

Now, before you stone me for stupidity, understand something.  I did not say it was harder to be a Christian (I did in the title, but that’s purposely misleading), I simply said it was harder to live a true Christian life.  There is a difference.

Let me explain.  We always hear stories of how missionaries to 3rd world countries get persecuted for their faith.  We hear stories of how people get confronted by mobs and are forced to renounce the name of Jesus or they will get beaten to death.  We hear all the horror stories of these individuals and it invokes a response that they are giants of faith and there is no way we could do that.  We are led to believe then, that these people are much better Christians than we are because they stood up to persecution, while we are free to live in freedom and peace.

Please understand that I am in now way demeaning missionaries.  They do something I could not, or more accurately do not want to do (especially those in a troubled country).  But, the idea that it is harder to live a Christian life over there, well, I actually completely disagree with that statement.  Let me ask you this question: if someone held a gun to your head and told you to curse the name of God or you will get shot, would you even hesitate?  There is just no way.  That is an easy decision.  It really is.  If you would even think about saving your own life by cursing the name of God, then you aren’t a Christian in the 1st place.  I’m pretty confident in that. 

But how about this scenario: you become a missionary to your own town.  You preach and what is the result?  People don’t care.  Apathy.  You are ignored.  Some of your friends might encourage you, but they don’t go with you, that’s too extreme for them.  You see all the people in your church living their “Christian” lives; going to church once a week, not committing any “awful” sins, living a generally moral life, but not extremely committed to Christ.  Your extreme faith is met with apathy and is ignored.

Which of those 2 people has it easier to actually live out what they believe?  If you proclaim Christ and people know that and are watching and waiting for you to make a mistake so they can persecute you for that mistake and your life is literally on the line if you relent in your faith, then there is a motivation there to stay on the right track.  If your life is at risk then you want to live every last second in relationship with God, doing what you know He is pleased with.  However, if you proclaim Christ and want to live “sold out” for Him, but everyone around you, including your friends” is just so uncaring to living for Christ, how hard would that be to keep going in the fight? 

Again, I’m not sure I gave great examples there, but I truly believe that it is much harder to live a solid, Christian life here in America where we have every luxury, we have freedom, we have the mindset that as long as we don’t do anything too bad, God is pleased with us.  Just look at the state of the church in America and tell me if you agree or disagree.

I believe God understands this as well with all the verses on persecution and faith. 1 Peter 1.7 states that when our faith is “tested by fire” it will be found good and righteous.  Our faith must be tested to ensure that it is good faith.  If our faith is never tested, how will we actually commit to it?  When we are constantly under barrage, our faith is refined, stronger.  Our lives are actually closer to God that way.

Why do you think most people have a life-changing experience at the lowest part of their life?  Because it is at that point that their faith is tested.  It is their proverbial life-or-death situation.  The only problem for us in America is that moment rarely comes.  For some it may never come, so their faith will never fully be tested.  Again, if your faith is never tested, how will you know your faith is real?  All “men of faith” were put under test after test to ensure that what they believed and committed to was real (Hebrews 11).  What about your faith?  Has it ever been tested?

I firmly believe that God commanded us to go “to Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the world” to test our faith (among other reasons).  We are to establish and grow in our faith in our local area, then once our faith is established, test it.  When you branch out to unknown areas, places that are ready to “crucify” you for being  a Christian, it is at that point were you can finally draw a line in the sand and say that “I am a true Christ follower and this is how I will live”.  In other countries this is so much easier than here in America where you will just not find that.

Why do you think some of most intense language against his followers from God was against the “lukewarm” Christians. (Revelation 3.16)  Complacency and laziness pisses God off so much. That is the definition of Christianity in America.  We can afford to be lazy or apathetic.  It is a benefit in some aspects that we don’t have to worry about our lives and can live in freedom, but for our Christian walk?  It might just be the worst thing possible.

I have heard that the only way the Christian church will ever turn back to what it is supposed to be is if it starts undergoing persecution.  I myself have said that before and I firmly believe that.  For Christianity in America to mean something, for it to be a true Christian faith, it’s going to have to get slapped in the face.  Then we will see who are the true Christians and who is living a lie.  As much as I don’t want that (my apathetic side), I really do want that day to come so we can see, as a Church, how our lives are supposed to be lived.  We will be forced to rely on God and not on our own selfish desires.

So, the question then is, with this knowledge, since none of us are missionaries to foreign countries, how do we live as though our faith is tested?  You must choose to live as though your life was on the line.  In America we can be complacent about our faith.  A missionary can’t choose to be complacent.  They must choose every day to follow Christ.  The decision is made for them; if they don’t, they fail.  This is the essence of the Christian faith: “If anyone would come after me, deny himself and take up his cross daily” (Matthew 16.24; Mark 8.34; Luke 9.23).  If we want to live a life that tests our faith, then we must daily live as though our faith depends on it.  It is only then, through the daily testing of our faith that we will come out refined, closer to God.

This taking up of the cross is definitely no easy task.  There are days when we will choose to be lazy.  The difference between America and other countries is that in America it is so much easier to be lazy, to take a day, then a week, then a month, then a decade off of being a true, refined Christian.  In other countries…the decision is made for you.  So again, it may be harder to live AS a Christian in other countries, but it is much harder to live LIKE a Christian in America.

So, with that, bring on the persecution of the church America.  It will be the best decision the government of our country could make.

Frustration

The other day in class my students were taking a quiz.  As with all quizzes, I inform them to keep them at their desks when they are finished (this has happened every single quiz the entire year….it’s May).  As I handed the quiz out I stated in a loud voice to keep the quizzes at their desks when they are done.  After everyone had their quiz and was just starting I reminded them one more time of the requirements expected of them.  I’m sure you can guess what happened as soon as the 1st kid finished.  He most assuredly got up out of his seat and went to turn it in.  (Level 4)

As I am teaching a particularly fascinating lesson on Igneous Rocks (the bane of my existence) a particular student gets up out of his seat right as I am talking.  I question the intelligence of this student at the reason behind his interrupting me.  His answer: “I didn’t realize we were learning anything”. (Level 6)

As the students are finishing up taking a test, 2 students who have already finished their test are having a conversation.  I instruct both of them to stop talking.  What happens?  They immediately continue their conversation.  When I move over for a more personal discussion the reason is given that they just needed to finish their line of communication and they were almost done. (Level 7)

Some old person cuts me off in the left hand lane as they decide to turn right and drift all the way over in front of me.  (Level 8)

My son is playing outside.  He is informed that it is time to go inside to eat dinner.  A negative reaction then begins.  He is then told that he has 3 seconds to go up the stairs.  He pretends like he doesn’t hear, followed by him being picked up and carried up stairs.  The following temper tantrum is loud enough that I’m pretty sure my parents in Philly heard him throwing himself around.  He screams for 30 minutes straight refusing any contact or talking (Level 9)

I keep dying at a the rotating blocks in the new Super Mario game in World 1-6.  (Level 10)

As you can see, this post is about frustration, stress, things of that nature.  It seems to be like I have been more frustrated these last few months than at any other time in my life.  Any little incident causes me to change from normal human to the hulk (but without the awesome strength and weird green color).

For those who don’t really know me, I have what has been described as an “anger problem” (scientific term).  I know, I am usually laid back and let nothing get to me or worry me.  That is really only on the outside….on the inside I want to literally punch your face so hard that you look like a Picasso painting.  If you don’t believe me, ask Beth.  While I have improved in that area over the last 5 years, for some reason these last few months have seen a massive increase in my frustration level.  I am frustrated at the kids stupidness (it would take way too long to explain how annoying some of these kids are…not really with behavior but more with apathy and their parents lack of caring as well, along with general disrespect), I am frustrated at how teacher’s ALWAYS complain about their students, I am frustrated that this year won’t end soon enough, I am frustrated that I have no outlet to vent my frustration as my only “guy” friends live about 17 hours away.  I am frustrated (not so much recently, he’s been really good lately) at Jack and how he exhibits so much of my personality it drives me insane.  I know all my Jr. High and High School teachers as well as my parents are laughing hysterically at the cosmic revenge that is now occurring as payback for my lovely childhood, but that doesn't make me feel any better.

What I want to know is, why?  Why have I been so frustrated lately, and more importantly how do I overcome it?  (There is a very easy answer to this, and it is an answer that I know perfectly and would tell anyone else within a heartbeat, yet can’t seem to actually put it into practice myself).  I hope that if you are feeling frustrated a bit, this will help you out as well.  Not in the mind-blowing aspect of it, since we all know how to solve frustration, but more in the reminder aspect.

First off, what is frustration? The veritable Wikipedia claims that “frustration is a common emotional response to opposition.  Related to anger and disappointment, it arises from the perceived resistance to the fulfillment of individual will.”  So, in dumb people terms it’s your emotions you feel when something pisses you off.  Shocking.  To me there are 10 levels of frustration:

Level 1: a mild eye rolling (an annoying joke, or anything involving Donald Trump)

Level 2: a sigh (at the end of the day when someone just rubs you the wrong way, or anything involving Brett Favre)

Level 3: a sarcastic reply (when someone acts ignorantly, or anything involving Jessica Simpson)

Level 4: a bitter sarcastic reply (when someone does something that just gets under my skin for some reason, or anything involving Twilight)

Level 5: a stare of death (anytime a Jr. High boy acts like a Jr. High boy, or anything involving Jon and Kate)

Level 6: a thought of violence (when someone ignores a direct “command”, or anything involving Rosie ‘O Donnel)

Level 7: pressure boiling inside of you begging to come out – the smoke monster (when someone repeatedly puts you on level 4-6, or anything involving Owen Wilson or Ben Stiller)

Level 8: grunt, throwing of arms, very loud sarcastic slam (when someone acts like I did growing up, anything involving traffic annoyances, or anything involving Julia Robert’s lips)

Level 9: a punch, throwing of chair/table, beating of child, internal swearing (when my child screams in a certain manner it is the most grating sound in the history of the world, or anything involving Paris Hilton/Miley Cyrus/Justin Beiber/Kim Kardashian/Jonas Brothers/any other “tween” sensation

Level 10: massive external swearing, uncontrollable movements, heart-attack-level blood pressure (repeated video game deaths at exact same spot….a spot only anger-filled video game players know.)

That is the true definition of frustration, and if you could agree to any of those, you  know what frustration is.  But the question is why are there times when we feel unbelievable frustration, or weeks where it seems the smallest thing can jump a normal level 2 to a level 8?  The answer is simple: you are a moron.

It is one of the simplest commands in the Bible, yet is essentially one of the most ignored commands in the Bible: “Pray”.  Prayer. (ever pay attention to how many times Jesus went and prayed?  Jesus?  God Himself?  If He had to pray, what do I have to do?) When we are in communication with God, when we are talking with the Creator, the Healer, the Helper, the One Who Refreshes, we feel better. Not necessarily in a “everything is perfect with me voodoo way”, but we see the good in the day or person and not always the negative side of it. We see people through God’s eyes.  I’m not going to dwell too much on this “spiritual lesson” as you can do this on your own, but when we pray to God, not only do we get to talk to God, but we also get to be used by God.  If we are in communication with God, He will not let us give in to these extremely frustrating actions…nor will we want to.

This is not something I can exactly explain, only give example to.  It seems counter-intuitive to us…but that is really the way God seems to work.  We we start getting really frustrated we say we need a vacation, time alone, a good book, a good movie, guy time, a change, anything to get us out of whatever our frustrations are.  But how often do we really just pray about it?  Again, I can’t explain how it works, I just know that the exact same things can happen to me one day and I will be the most pissed off person in the world looking for a reason to physically harm someone.  The next day when those same things happen again, I can laugh them off or ignore them or even talk with whoever is causing the frustration about the reasoning behind it.  Why?  Because one day I am acting in my flesh and blocking the Holy Spirit’s use in my life.  The next day, thanks to open communication with God, I am allowing Him to use me through the day and I can more easily see the proper way to handle things and that boiling anger takes a little longer to surface (it still may, but I’m trying….baby step).

In one of the most misused verses in Scripture (of which I will participate as well) Jesus himself tells us that when we “come to Him” our burden will be lightened and we will find rest for our souls(actually in reference to not having to follow the law and living by grace and can also be applied to salvation, but really not so much in context to frustration….but oh well). (Matthew 11.28)  When we ignore God, we are choosing instead to live on our own.  While that might work for a day or 2, or even longer if you are stubborn (e.g. the author of this post), eventually it will catch up.  Eventually you will realize that life without communication with Peace will lead to massive frustration and exasperation and negativity and general disappointment with life.  It’s just how it is.  It seems to be the “gentle” way of God directing us back to him….getting us to realize how miserable the world is without Him. (I definitely appreciate this gentle reminder and not a more severe disciplinary reminder….grace of God astounds me….I would have sent many lightning bolts by now)

So, the next time someone annoys you, pray and ask how God would respond.  The next time some old person cuts you off in the car, thank God for the many great things their generation has done (or at the very least just take a breath, ignore it, and continue with your day) If your kid annoys you, realize he is a sinner that needs to see Jesus in your life.  If a student annoys you, understand he is just being an evil little kid that tries to see how far to push things.  He isn’t necessarily a bad kid (at least not any worse than the rest of us) he just needs help.  Don’t we all.

If this seems corny to you (as it did to me) then you are as cynical as I am.  My only suggestion to you is try it.  If you find yourself constantly being frustrated with life and annoyed all the time…try praying.  What do you have to lose?  For me, I need help in this area.  My prayer life (if I may quote Kanye) “sounds like Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents”.  I may have a good day, then forget about it for a week.  I just suck like that.  So, to enlist the best person to help that I know of, Beth and I are going to start something that sadly we have never really done on a consistent basis: start doing devotions together.  I truly believe that working together our prayer life will improve, among other things, and with an improved prayer life, the rest of life will follow.  Not that everything will be perfect and life may still suck for us, but at least I will start to see the positive in certain things and hope that God allows me to see how He is working, even in all the terrible, stupid, dumb rejects I have for students.

AMEN!

VISA Really is the Mark of the Beast

Does anyone remember back in the early-mid 90’s when there was the “huge” phenomenon amongst the conservative Christians proclaiming that the company VISA was the Mark of the Beast and if you got one of their credit cards that meant you were aligning yourself with the antichrist?  Remember?

These guys are really pumped with the new APR rates they are receiving

In case you don’t remember, the idea was that the mark of the beast (as stated in Revelation 13.16-18) would mean that nobody could purchase anything without the mark.  And, along comes these new “credit” card devices that were gaining popularity.  One of these companies was evilly named VISA.  And some crazy people dissected the name VISA to get to 666 – the mark of the beast. VI is 6 in Roman Numerals. S was 6 in ancient Egypt. A was 6 in Sanskrit. VISA, see, is 666.  Then there are meanings in the symbols of VISA that the term VISA is required for transport between countries, and without too much effort you have yourself a nice, fresh conspiracy theory that by purchasing a credit card, you have now aligned yourself with the devil. (don’t you love Christians?)

Now, I want to clear up a couple of things first and foremost.  I am really not going to be discussing the fact of VISA actually being the mark of the beast…..that’s stupid.  I am not even going to touch the new idea of the mark of the beast – the idea being that ID chips and other biomedic devices that might be placed in our skin which contain all of our information, bank accounts, and other stuff.  That too is hogwash. (if I need to explain why, you are not intelligent….do you really think that by getting a microchip placed in your body to help make “tracking” or other information easier to get to for doctors, stores, even government that this will take away my salvation?  really?)  Finally, LET ME MAKE THIS PERFECTLY CLEAR TO ALL CHRISTIANS, the mark of the beast actually doesn’t even appear until AFTER the rapture when the antichrist comes into power to unify the world.  So, there is no way that anything developed or put into place before the rapture is going to be the mark of the beast.  Seriously, try reading the Bible every once in a while crazy Christians.

Oh, wait…this is for a later post

But, my point remains that the title of this blog post is that VISA is the Mark of the Beast.  So, I have to explain myself somehow.  Here is my explanation:  VISA really is the Mark of the Beast.  Fantastic isn’t it?

Bear with me (this post may stem from my frustration with finances and other circumstances, but this entire blog is just designed to look at things from different perspectives, so that’s what I’m doing).

The entire point of the mark of the beast is a means of identification.  To have the mark of the beast on your hand or forehead is a direct contrast to how the Israelites were commanded to place God’s law on their hands and foreheads to signify God’s authority over them (Duet. 6.8).  So, when one gets the mark of the beast (whatever that actually is, whether physical or not) it really is just an indication that you are placing your trust and allegiance and control in a secular being that is not God.

Here’s where my idea starts taking shape: when we started using credit cards, what was the reason for using them?  Think about it?  We use our credit cards to purchase items that we cannot afford at the current time.  (there may be arguments to this, but stick with me)  In our current culture we are told we need credit cards to build up a credit history so our loans will have a low interest rate and we will be approved for higher mortgages (weird when you think about it…build debt to get approved for more debt….oh well).  That in and of itself not a bad thing…..as long as you have the self control to pay your bill off every month.  But who among us did that in their “early days”.  Why did we then rack up credit card debt?  Why does the average American owe more than $16,000 in credit card bills? (ed. note: holy crap that is a lot)

I knew those devil horns should have been a clue to something

The reason we racked up those bills was because we were selfish and wanted material goods right away.  We may not have realized it at the time, but if we would have had more patience, more self-control, more wisdom, we could have very easily avoided any debt at all.

**Maybe I should change this whole “we” to “I” since I can really only speak from personal experience from this point on, although I’m 99% sure this will apply to you as well.**

Here is my new thinking (and the more I look at it, the more a true God follower looks extremely radical in their actions): when we choose to put ourselves in debt we are rejecting God’s promise that he will provide for us financially.  When we put ourselves in debt we are showing with our actions that we “need” things that God just can’t provide in our selfish timeline.  Think about all of your debt and why it is there….could it have been avoided?  With a little more patience, maybe some more hard work, definitely some more self-control, should you have any credit card debt or any other debt at all?  (8 out of 10 people are already agreeing, 1 out of 10 is just ignoring the obvious because they are too proud to admit they messed up, and the other 1 is too rich to care) To me, there is absolutely no reason to. If you “have to have debt” to survive, then you are living outside of your means and you are simply not relying on God’s sovereign control over your life.  God promised to provide for all of our needs.  Going into debt is the exact opposite of that.  I don’t feel like I am explaining my thoughts very well right now, but let me take it a step further to really make you mad. 

Think about all of your debt and why you have it?  Most of us have credit card debt (the bane of my existence) and some of us have school bill debt (thankfully, I do not have this thanks to my generous parents).  Could any of this debt have been avoided?  In my opinion, very easily.  Listen, I really want to get my masters and eventually my doctorate.  But to do that requires money, and lots of it.  We still have credit card debt and our budget right now, with Beth staying home, consists of cutting every possible corner and living as meagerly as possible just to get to even…not to save…just to get to even, and there seem to be months where this just isn’t possible.  That is a scary place to be.  But, even though it would advance my career and improve my job, how in the world could I live with myself if I took out a huge student loan and placed my family in even more debt just to pursue a goal right now?  Couldn’t I just wait, continue to be smart with money, pray with God incessantly, and see what happens in the future?  If God wants me to get my masters, He will provide the finances for this.  Who am I to play God and try to take control of my life with debt? (I so wish this was a lesson I learned 10 years ago)

My opinion as of now (subject to change) really is becoming rather strong in this matter.  Most people agree on the credit card debt, but what about the next major debt inducer – student loans.  Who says that a kid straight out of high school has to go to college for the next 4 years?  If he can’t afford it, is that a Biblical thing to just say screw it, society expects this so I will go into debt, put my “faith” in the financial system, not in God’s system and pursue my “dreams” right now?  How selfish does that sound?  Isn’t it entirely possible for that kid to work hard, take a few classes a year, continue to trust that God will provide and reward his hard work, go to school for 6 or 7 years and finally, with no debt, become rewarded with a degree, then move on with his life?  Which sounds more Biblical and God-fearing and trusting to you?

Again, I’m making this post extremely long and I really don’t feel like I’m explaining it too well as of now (finishing this up on a Saturday morning in detention…brain not functioning on all cylinders).  But I really do feel as if racking up debt, whether credit, school, loans (a house loan is a whole other issue), etc., really means that you are placing your faith and allegiance outside of God’s domain.  To me, that is what the mark of the beast is about, so I stand by my original title. 

“Money is the root of all evil.”  That statement is not just talking about rich people not needing God (how it is normally preached), but it is stating that we need to place our trust, no matter how rich or poor, in God’s hands.  He will provide for all of our needs in HIS OWN TIMING.  I can’t wait to be done with credit card debt (if ever….God will need to work miracles for this) and be done with credit cards.  But for now, I need to continue to place my faith that God will provide, live within my means (and if I can’t, something needs to change in my life), and continue to thank God for the roof over my head and the food on my plate…..and for Hulu for free TV.

AMEN!