I get that most Christians are not who they say they are. I understand this, because I’m not exactly who I hoped I would be by now and on occasion I’ve even been a hypocrite.
Too bad so many of us that are ‘of faith’ are also hypocrites. Maybe this is what stops so many from believing God is anything more than a quaint fairy tale. I think in the future it would be better if all Christians just duck tape their mouths shut until their life is entirely aligned with what they feel compelled to preach.
So since I’m sensitive to this christian hypocrite thing I took it fairly serious when my friend labeled my faith as ’nice, quaint and fairy tale like’ I immediately sensed I’d been hypocritical as it was clear he didn’t know the real me and my ugly faith journey.
To help him understand how nice, quaint and fairy tale like my faithful life is I told him a few things I usually don’t share with most anyone. I told him about the time I volunteered at the church and then in the church parking lot, flipped off, yes gave the bird to the parking attendant. I assume it wasn’t the holy spirit but a rather severe and rabid hot flash.
Then I showed him the photo of a not so quaint outfit and the matching heels I wore out one night not so long ago.
And in regards to the fairy tale that made believing in a fairy tale of a God so easy I shared some of the low lights of this life of mine. I walked him through how easy it was to believe when your mom is taken from you in your 20′s and how addictions of loved ones help you believe in an omnipotent God. And then I invited him inside to my personal failures and showed him how divorce, business failures and more made faith so easy for me…
And then as I wrapped up the review of my dysfunctional, hypocritical, faith journey; my eyes filled with tears.
My faith isn’t a box I just grabbed off some shelf.
It isn’t something I came to because life has been so good, wonderful and fairy tale like for me. I explained to my friend. And then when I’d been as honest as possible about my not so pretty faith journey and my hypocritical living I asked my friend if there was anything I could pray for him-for.
Then it was his turn to cry. Seems it had been forever since a hypocrite with a not so nice , quaint, fairy tale life had asked him if they could pray with and for him and the things that he most wanted and needed in his own life. And so we prayed. The believing hypocrite and the label making nonbeliever. We bowed our heads and asked my fairy tale God if he could fill the hearts of two very similar people.
And when I walked away from my friend I committed to never pretending to be living some sort of nice, quaint, fairy tale faith…
My faith is anything but nice. Its never quaint- it is an intimate and sometimes hypocritical walk . And so I…Pray without ceasing….
Are You A Christian Hypocrite Or Just A Nice, Quaint, Believer of Fairy Tales….Faith
Photos By The Incredible Inspiring Jordan Oram
