The infamous 3 C’s. Just kidding- most people haven’t heard of this term. But for me, its very real, and honestly so dumb.
Christianity, for a lot of people (and for me until recently), seems to be this unattainably perfect mold that you’re judged for if you don’t fit in. You’re a cookie cutter. Everyone has to look the same, and be the same. I think this is one of the reasons a lot of college students stray from their faith honestly, because they don’t want to be in that mold anymore- to have to live up to these incredibly high standards that just aren’t realistic.
You party? You must not be a good Christian. You missed church? Shame on you. You had sex? Have fun in Hell.
I understand that our ultimate goal is to be as perfect as we can for Jesus, to do good works in His name and spread His love. But why is it such a judgmental road?
The other week I got into an argument with someone who didn’t want to go to church with me. It really upset me that he didn’t see the value in church that I saw. When I think church, I think community, worship, comfort and peace. So I pushed him to see what I see, but it just didn’t click for him. He saw awkward tension and fake smiles. It took me a while to realize, but for him, that’s perfectly okay. So he isn’t ready to go to church regularly. That doesn’t make him any less of a Christian. He’s on his own walk, having his own relationship with God. It’s time for us to be raw and honest about our faith. It won’t be perfect, but what is? We’re unique– our walk with God should be too.
I think George McLoud said it best, when he argues that the faithful usually aren’t what you’d expect. He says, “I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves. On the town garbage dump. At a crossroads so cosmopolitan, they had to write his title in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. It was the kind of place where cynics talk smut, thieves curse, soldiers gamble. That’s where He died. And that’s where we ought to be. And what we as Christians out to be about”.
