What would you say?

If you could say anything to Christians, what would it be? I think this is a healthy exercise for both Christians and non-Christians to engage in, because as Christians we either:

• Become so immersed in our view that scripture is true and Jesus is real that we have a difficult time speaking to people who don't believe either. 
• Judge non-Christians for not believing in God and alienate ourselves from sharing Christ in love. 
• Become so inward looking to our families, church, job, etc that we don't listen to the burdens God has placed on fellow believers' hearts, burdens that we can share and pro-actively tackle. 

So, THIS time I really do want you all to leave comments on what you would say to Christians, as long as you're nice about it. Really, don't be shy. Think how God can use what you say to open the eyes and hearts of fellow believers. Just remember that sticks and stones break bones, but words break spirits. Caveat: the reason I can write this list below is because I've realized my own need to answer God's call in all these areas! It doesn't mean that I've got it all covered. Let's be honest: I'm a total mess. 

So, here's my list of what I want to say to Christians. 

1. I wish we could be more open about our struggles and try less to look like we're perfect. When someone asks how we're doing, I wish we would say "We're really struggling, but we know God is good." I wish we would actively live as if we believe that we're sinful and messy and that's why we need Jesus.
2. I wish we would tithe, and not just whenever we have left-over money at the end of the month, but that we would really tithe, 10%, upfront, after every pay-check, birthday money, Christmas money, etc. Statistics show that only about 20% of Christians tithe, which means that the Church is limited in carrying out biblical mandates because we Christians aren't trusting in God's faithfulness to provide for us, even when money is tight. What little we do tithe, God uses in mighty ways. Think how the Kingdom would grow if we loosened our purse strings and opened our hearts!
3. I wish we would sponsor children living in third world countries. Child sponsorship costs about the same as eating out once a month, yet it provides education, healthcare, food, and a tangible example of Christ's love to children living in insufferable conditions worldwide. I wish Christians, whose hearts have been hardened by a world of consumerism and materialism, would soften to the burden of poverty and the biblical call to alleviate this suffering in the name of Jesus. If every Christian sponsored a child, God could use our sacrifice to end much of the world's suffering. Wow. 
4. I wish we would embrace the biblical call to adoption. We as Christians have been adopted by God and are heirs to his kingdom. How can we then not live that out on earth, adopting the orphaned and welcoming them into our families? This doesn't mean every Christian must adopt a child, but I do think that all Christians should support adoption through financial giving, prayers, or supporting families who have adopted. 
5. I wish Christians would stop majoring in the minors. Churches spend so much time raging against very specific sins (like homosexuality). These are sins, no doubt, and they have very real consequences. But the heart of the matter is that people need Jesus. The same people who struggle with homosexuality are sinful like the people who look at pornography, lust, commit adultery, fail to tithe, who gossip, who are mean to their husbands, who verbally abuse their families, who deal unethically in business, who are gluttonous, etc. While the church is called, and therefore must, broach these sins, I wish the Church wouldn't become ensnared in the web of legalism at the cost of losing the beauty of Christ's gracious work on the cross. That's the major issue. That's why we're called to love EVERYONE, our neighbor as ourself. Would you listen to someone who judges you and tells you you're sinful if that person first didn't love you and show you the love of the savior they claim to represent? There's a difference between loving others and being tolerant of others' sin. Let's not conflate the two but let's not abandon one for fear of doing both.
6. I wish Christians weren't ignorant. Jesus was the greatest thinker of all time. Was he afraid to express his knowledge of heretical philosophies, pagan cultural practices, or sinful lifestyles? No, because to engage the unbelieving world, we need to look at their world view. This doesn't mean we must have all the answers, because that's impossible and that negates the need for faith. Jesus uses the foolishishness of this world to shame the wise, so we shouldn't get caught up in wisdom. But we shouldn't avoid anything that contradicts Christianity either. Questioning allows learning, which reveals God's character.  In other words, you can still be a Christian and listen to NPR. 
7. I wish Christians weren't racist. Even when we don't realize it, if you look around, the church is split. How many churches reflect the diversity of God's creation? Not many. Of course, this is the product of the Church's former sins stemming from slavery and the civil rights movement wherein white churches barred blacks, so blacks often started their own churches. The WASP trend needs to end. This means getting out of our comfort zones and engaging diverse communities that we don't understand and maybe are even fearful of. But here in Athens, Downtown Ministries is off to a great start in healing the wounds of racism and bridging the gap between diverse communities. God is way bigger than racism. 
8. I wish Christians didn't think that being patriotic meant being pro-war. Jesus was a peace-maker.  War, especially in the middle east, increases oppression for those already in the most vulnerable state, namely women and children. War also deflects resources from providing monetary aid for sustainable change through education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc. Not to mention that war adds to our domestic budget crisis and siphons funds from social care here at home. There's a difference between supporting our troops and supporting our nation's belligerence.  
9. I wish that Christians didn't link politics with religion so heavily. I do understand that a biblical worldview should impact our political stances, but I don't think that all Christians must be Republicans or that voting democrat means you're a heathen. I'm not sure how faith and politics should coalesce (I'm still working through it), but let's be honest: both sides of the political aisle are corrupt, dishonest, and support issues that are un-Biblical. 
10. I wish Christians didn't hate (or seem to hate) immigrants. The Bible tells us to defend the fatherless and the foreigner, and while they came illegally and are a financial burden in some ways, we are still to love them and seek just reform for them. But this might be conflating politics with religion... see it's tricky! 

That's all that I've got for now.  Of course, these ideas don't relate to all Christians. And I'm CERTAIN that not all of my readers will agree with me.

BUT, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, share how you envision meaningful change the church and christians can implement to better share the gospel and be more like Jesus. Share those burdens God has placed on your heart! He's placed them there for a reason, and you never know how he can use what you share to enlighten another person about the gospel.