Many of the shows on TV as well as books on our bedside tables have one thing we cannot get enough of...bad guys, villains, and the like. Sometimes it seems that Christians find themselves in this same boat. Not without good reason though. From the first murder until this very moment there are bad boys and bad girls (or men and women) who call themselves Christian and yet are hard to recognize because of their behaviors. The world looks at the general public as being "people" and classifies Christians separately according to how stringent their beliefs are and how they ply those beliefs in the world. So it is that we are relegated to living out a life of expected stereotypical behavior instead of being...well, being human. You don't hear people saying, "He did that and he's a republican?" or "She acted that way towards her friend and calls herself a hairdresser?" But you do hear, "He/She say they are Christian and then they break the law speeding! Well, I never!"
A number of years ago a judge in Washington state heard a case brought by people who were lied to by a politician. What's so odd about that? The judge deemed that the politician had in fact lied to the people and that the people should not have any expectation that politicians should be telling the truth. No big surprise since the judge is a politician in their own right. Maybe that's what part of the problem comes from. Expectations based on what "should" be and not based on what is. Given the climate of our world expectations on some individuals and groups is much higher than on others. It's like this. We have low expectations on a career criminal that he will no longer be an offender but a productive member of society. When we have low or no expectations on others we aren't disappointed and the politicians can go on lying to the people. Criminals can go on being criminals with doctors/lawyers, and others who fall into the category where expectations and trust have eroded. So, why not the Christian?
I believe that people want someone/something to be the "good" in the world or even in their lives. People want someone to stand for what they believe. When people do not stand for what they believe they become classified with the rest of the world. There are no expectations. Well, "you don't want to rock the boat." Why not? Well, "leave well enough alone." Why? Well, "we don't want to bring trouble upon ourselves." Why not? These are all things that Jesus stood for and did. He was not able to stand by and not stand up. When we as Christians stand up and stand by we increase the expectations of others on ALL Christians. When one politician falls; he/she was an anomaly. When on Christian leader falls, the whole Christian world becomes suspect. When one doctor is indicted for malpractice and criminal behavior the whole world may notice but don't give the doctor another thought. Why? Expectations and trust.
So, what do we do as Christians in a world where this duplicity exists? Do we stand firm even when we have failed? Do we stand aside and let the world do and think as it wishes? We are humans and we will fail. In fact the Scripture points out that we will fail every day simply because we are not perfect. Presentation of ourselves being above reproach, above criticism, above examination only serve to prove the worlds condemnation of Christians and the Christian faith. We are left to what we are. We are a fallen people saved by the grace of Christ who faced all of the temptations we face. We will fall off the pedestal other people put us on. So why step up to the pedestal at all? Why place yourself and your faith to the test of anything but Scripture? We do not owe the world behavior based on their expectations. We who believe are responsible to present Christ to the world around us just as we are. We are humans.
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