This article has been coming for a while. It isn’t a fun one to write, however, it is one that needs to be written. The last two years of my life has been full of hard lessons. It has been an eye-opening journey, yet it has been an incredibly difficult one.
Being dragged through this dark valley for this enormous amount of time has shown me where the true light comes from, and I am going to tell you, it isn’t church. Now, I know that this statement seems like blasphemy, but it isn’t. The church is seen as essential for your faith to grow; however, going to multiple churches through these last two years has changed my perspective.
During this season of life, the numerous churches I have attended, which will remain anonymous, never gave me what I needed. Instead of finding Christ, I would only find religion. I found broken people too proud to admit their brokenness, but were the first to point out mine.
Before anyone says, “The church is made with broken people, you need to understand that.” I do understand that. I understand that the church is meant to be a hospital for the broken, a place of healing and a place of hope, it never was intended to be a museum for the righteous to bang their gongs.
In what I have experienced though, is just that – a museum for the righteous. The church hides behind its “community outreaches” or how much food they have given to the less fortunate, which is great; I am not discrediting that.
I am disgraced that this is the façade they hide behind. I am disgraced by the fact that they are willing to bang their gong and say, “look at what we did,” but in Matthew chapter six Christ says, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for you will have no reward from your father who is in heaven.”
I am disgraced with the fact that the church is willing to excommunicate one of its’ own members when they fall short of their standards. This is not what Christ intended. We are to hold each other to higher standards, yes, but we are not to judge. In Romans 2:1, Paul says, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same thing.”
This is where I have had it with the church. My problem is when I see it call my sister a witch for quoting, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, or casts judgment upon my friend because she struggles with her faith, or when it calls a member of its’ congregation “the hands of Satan” because they attended another church. This is where I find it hard to be a part of the church.
Noah Stahlecker | The Criterion
How can we miss the mark? This judgmental culture that has been bred into our churches is wrong. Have we forgotten the simple fact that we are all deserving of hell? I don’t care if you are the pastor of a mega church or the janitor that cleans up after service. We all deserve to be hanging on that cross.
In Romans chapter three Paul delves into this truth. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
That is a hard pill to swallow, and I am not saying I am not at fault of judgment. I have judged those who judged me, and it has taken me months of separation from the church to finally find peace.
There is a song that has been on my heart throughout all of this. It is called The Father’s Bargain by Wolves at the Gate. The story that is played out in this song is a conversation between the Son and the Father, and what will be done with man’s wickedness. These lyrics have resonated in my heart for over a month now, “O my son, you must understand that if I show mercy you must reckon to pay, the last bit of my rage. For justice reigns upon this throne; perfection without flaw. How can the wicked find their peace and still have broken every law?”
That’s another tough pill to swallow. We all are the wicked ones; not a one of us is righteous. What we deserve is hell, and no one can escape that; however, we have been given an amazing gift.
In this song, the Son responds, “Let it be so, charge it on me. For I can bear the weight of sin so all would be free. Bring in all their sins; every last bill that they owe. Lay it all on me, for what they reap I will sow.” Christ did not die so we could play judge and executioner. Honestly, I wholeheartedly believe if Christ came back today, he would see the church as the modern-day Sadducees and Pharisees.
We all have missed the mark, but we can change this culture. Now I am not saying we aren’t accountable to each other, by no means am I saying that. I am saying we are no better than the person next to us, and no person is better than another. In God’s eyes, our sins are equal and all deserving of hell, but with the free gift of Christ we have been given another chance.
We should not take this chance lightly. It is one that was given at a high price. So, what do we do then? Do we continue this culture of judgment? No! By no means do we continue this cycle. Instead, we need to start looking at people for who they are, perfectly broken and in need of a perfect savior. Everyone deserves grace, and not a one of us is perfect. Our righteous acts are nothing more than mere dirty rags. Once we come to terms to this, I believe we will see the church come to life again.
