Humans are not perfect. Since Christians are human, they are not perfect either. Christians are just as flawed as the rest of the world. Unfortunately Christians live in a sort of goldfish bowl as others watch them, scrutinize them with an imaginary magnifying glass, and require them to live sin free lives. As hard as Christians may try, they will frequently fall short of the high expectations non-Christians place on them.
Christ has high expectations for those who profess to follow him, too. However, he doesn’t love them any less when they slip and fail to do what is right. Christ died for all our sins: past, present and future. Some say, “If that’s true, why bother to live the Christian life at all. Just do what you want and God will forgive you.” This thinking is a little short sighted.
First, although Jesus died for our sins, it doesn’t absolve us from the ill effects connected to sin. God doesn’t have to zap us if we sin because sin carries its own cause and effect. It’s the “what you sow you shall reap principle” or “what goes around comes around.”
Secondly, true Christians are sincerely trying not to sin because they appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for them. They are new creations. (2 Corinthians 5:17) They strive to live a godly life out of love for the one who makes salvation possible, not out of fear of what will happen to them if they don’t.
With that said, we must still realize Christians are humans and therefore flawed. Believe it or not sometimes they might lie, be deceived, get drunk, commit adultery, be jealous, not get along, run away, hide, scheme, gossip, deny Christ, doubt, fret, and even murder.
Just look at these examples…
- Eve allowed herself to be deceived.
- Abraham lied and said his wife Sarah was his sister.
- Paul couldn’t get along with John Mark.
- Solomon let his wives lead him astray.
- David committed adultery with Bathsheba.
- Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery.
- Saul was jealous of David.
- Elijah was afraid of Jezebel and ran away.
- Ruth was a pagan.
- Moses was a murderer.
- Rahab was a harlot.
- Jacob was a schemer.
- James and John were called the “sons of thunder.”
- Samson was weak in the ways of women.
- Peter denied Christ.
- Jonah ran from God.
- Miriam was a gossip.
- Thomas doubted.
- Noah got drunk.
- Martha fretted.
Just because some of our biblical ancestors had some shady actions doesn’t give us license to conduct ourselves in the same manner. The Bible is full of examples for us to learn from – some good and some not so good. (1 Corinthians 10:11) However, it does reinforce that people, even Christians make mistakes and sometimes they are pretty big mistakes.
Personally I’m glad the Bible contains stories of these flawed individuals who loved God. After all, it isn’t the person who should be put under a magnifying glass, but God’s grace. Fortunately for all of us, God’s grace covers a multitude of sin.
