Are Christians better people because they are Christian?
When we become Christians do we become better than other people? It's certainly the accusation most non-Christians level at the church community. We are perceived as arrogant, holier-than-thou people who shake their finger at the world with a condescending tone rather than washing feet and offering grace. On the other hand, what about the ambitious, self-absorbed person who could care less about the needs of the poor and starving because they have made themselves the center of the universe? Are we better than them?
As Christians, we're not better than other people but we're better than we would be without Jesus.
This reminded me of a fantastic quote by C.S. Lewis in 1944. When asked, "Are there any unmistakable outward signs in a person surrendered to God? Would he/she be less cantankerous?
He gave the following answer: "Take the sour old maid, who is a Christian, but cantankerous. On the other hand, take some pleasant and popular fellow, but who has never been to church. Who knows how much more cantankerous the old maid might be if she were not a Christian, and how much more likeable the nice fellow might be if he were a Christian? You can't judge Christianity simply by comparing the product in those two people; you would need to know what kind of raw material Christ was working on in both cases."
Has anyone noticed a difference in your life because of the transformation Christ is working in your attitude and behavior?
Taken from: C.S. Lewis - Essay Collection and other short pieces. Harper Collins, 2000.
“Has anyone noticed a difference in my life because of the transformation Christ is working in my attitude and behavior?”
Well, first I would have to question the word “difference” — is the difference for the better or for the worse? But considering the fact that it is Christ doing the transforming, then the difference must be for the better because Christ, the Potter, would be molding me, the clay, into being more like Him; and — as Wesley suggested in the development of Methodism and as God stated throughout the Old Testament — into being more holy so that I can enter into a relationship with the Most High and Holy God.
Secondly, is the probability, that, for someone to notice a “difference in my life” because of Christ working in and through me, it would be most helpful for that person if he or she would have known me before as well as during and after the transformation in order to fairly and accurately compare and contrast the “two me’s.”
Thirdly, I would say that I pray most fervently that anyone who is around me would, and not for my sake but for God’s sake, notice “Christ in me, Christ with me, and Christ before me” no matter how long or how short of a period of time they have known me; for we are charged by Christ Himself to be His “salt and light” for all people wherever and whatever our “world” might be and with whomever we come in contact.
Whether anyone does or does not recognize a transformation in me is really up to the Spirit and whether He opens “the eyes that need to see and the ears that need to hear” so that they, in fact, can do both. I would pray, however, that the smile that is on my face and in my heart because I know that “Yes, Jesus loves me” along with my wishing people “a blessed day” and my offering to keep them in my prayers would suggest, as my pastor often says, “that there is something different about me and that they, too, want what I have.”
But, it is not for me to speak for other people and for what they do or do not see in me. I try to live, act, speak, and do as God wants and as He commands and asks me to do; but, oh, how I “a sinner” so often fail miserably. But, then, I am “a work in progress” being grown and nourished by a very forgiving and patient God. It is up to those other people to speak for themselves and whether, because of who and what I am in and because of Jesus Christ, I help them to choose to want to invite Him in to share with them the joy found in having “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” in their lives.
But, ultimately, the “anyone,” whom I want to “notice a difference in my life” is Christ, Himself. He is the One working on me to mold and shape me during my journey called life; and He is the One Who knows what additional transformations and changes need to occur in order for me to enter the Narrow Gate and spend eternity with Him and His Father, so I am most concerned whether “He has noticed a difference in my life because of the transformation He is working in my attitude and behavior.” If not, I pray He will love me enought to keep working. My fulfilling of His purpose for my life here on earth and my life eternal depends on it.