The performance we call faith
When the church becomes a theatre
Hiii guys! I’m FINALLY back (final year is no joke)😭. A quick update before I begin:
I’m doing okay-ish. I’ve been trying to get into character for a very controversial, negative role that I’m to play in a production a couple of days from now, and that alone is something.
My biggest issue is that in order to embody the character, I have to actually think how he thinks, which is what scares me the most. I'm not scared that I’d permanently morph into some evil guy, but that there are several people in this world who do think like that. It actually sends chills down my spine.
Anyway, I’m here to talk about something that has been made very apparent to me in recent times both through my actions and the actions I’ve observed from around me, and I’m going to begin with a question:
Why are so many Christians so performative?
Why is the only thing we get right the mere appearance of what we think it means to be Christ-like?
This is a real issue. Sometimes it feels like a lot of us are just puppets wired to talk, walk, and act in a certain way that totally does NOT depict what scripture reveals to be Christ’s intention for His church, Jeez.
It’s something that has occupied my mind and heart over the past couple of days, and honestly, it’s so deeply saddening that those of us who preach “love”, “holiness”, or “rest” in God, are the very ones engineering a community of believers who are a tongue-speaking, bible-quoting, demon-expelling facade.
It’s quite sad that so many of us are simply trying to keep up an appearance because of an expectation that was placed on our shoulders by the pretense-filled demeanor that we wear on our hearts.
Why is nobody meek anymore? Why is nobody teachable anymore? Why is love simply a topic that everyone likes to preach but nobody likes to practice? Why are there more people battling depression, anxiety, and mental-health issues even after being surrounded with several people who claim to be Christ-like?
Well, the answer is, we Christians who claim to be Christ-like have completely ignored that one of the major characteristics of our Christ that we see in his interactions with people all the while He was alive on earth, was his humanity. We’ve propagated a version of Christianity that makes us appear to be “gods”, therefore driving us to totally abandon the inescapable fact that we are HUMAN.
The painful thing? Even most of us that seem to be “real” and ‘down-to-earth” are simply living a facade too. We’ve constructed the way everyone perceives us to accommodate the very excesses that are contributing to the unfortunate predicament of those who are in the body but feel like the body is working against them.
What happened to compassion? consideration? What happened to self-control? Why are people no longer holding themselves accountable? Why do we wait for the Holy Spirit to tell us to apologize to someone clearly and obviously wronged?
Why are we so self-centered? Am I mistaken to believe that the very foundation of our faith lies in the highest expression of selflessness? Why have we in the name of ‘protecting our peace’ allowed violent, raging storms to form in our midst?
Why are we doing for the devil what he plans on doing to us?
As I write this, my heart bleeds and cries out in anguish. I can only imagine what pain wells up in our Father’s heart when He sees the state of His people.
Nobody can even open up about their struggles anymore! Nobody feels safe enough to be a HUMAN BEING! Even while surrounded by many others who claim to be human too.
For some odd reason, nobody seems to be sane enough to admit that they are NOT God, because it appears as though everyone is just as perfect and divine, always knowing what to say, what to do, and how to do it.
Everyone’s problems have become exponentially greater than they actually are, because nobody cares to admit that they do have problems, and for those who admit to the fact, they’re met with a disposition that suggests they have not fully “surrendered it all” to God. Tch.
I say, how will they do so if they have never seen anyone do it? How will they be taught if nobody is humble enough to be honest? How will a state of vulnerability be achieved when we’re all surrounded by superheroes in suits, Christian tees, and neatly ironed trad (for my people).
Sigh.
I believe that if we who preach grace would truly lean into it, extend it to others, and show it to ourselves too, the body would not feel like a ticking time bomb working against itself.
Honestly, even with all this, I do not in any way claim to be innocent or completely void of fault. I do not even claim to have a complete grasp of the magnitude of this deeply rooted issue.
I simply desire that I and many others would repent, pray, and ask God to show us the true state of our hearts so that at the very least, we would see that we aren’t all as good as we think we are, and maybe we would learn to live not like heroes but simply as people made whole by the One who is perfect.
Love,
Daniel.
Thank you Daniel ❤️