Until 1916 all British military officers were required by threat of court martial to wear a mustache. Obviously all their officers were men. I went to a “Christian?” high school. One year the faculty voted to send home two young men. One of them had hair that was too long and one’s hair was too short. Really! They would make up rules for things they did not like. Not enough thought was given to what was really important; things like treating others as you would want to be treated. We call this majoring in minors and minoring in majors.
What does it really mean to be a Christian/Christ-like? Jesus said, “Herein shall men know you are my disciples if you love one another.” John 13:35. Jesus never nit-picked. To the woman caught in adultery He said, “I don’t condemn you. Just don’t do it anymore.” To the paralyzed man lowered on a bed through the roof He said, “Your sins are forgiven.” When face to face with an untouchable leper, He touched him. When surrounded by a batch of yelling pushing children, He said, “Come here.” For the men who nailed Him to the cross He said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t understand.”
If we would only read and reread these stories we would know how to behave and what was important. So often the things we condemn are merely a matter of our personal taste and have little to do with real Christianity. If we could only stop finger pointing and gossiping and do more loving we could stop spending money on evangelism. The evangelism would happen as a fruit of our lives. People need to be loved and they will come to places they are loved. That’s majoring in majors.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 18, 2014
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org