25 June 2009

Christians Aren't the Only Hypocrites

As I drove home from work today, I passed a Mercury Mountaineer (EPA est. 14 mpg city) whose driver was drinking from a Styrofoam cup. Though not an unusual sight, what made this whole scene interesting was the bumper sticker on his gas guzzler: "Tree-Hugging Dirt Worshiper."

Does this make him a bad dirt worshiper? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I caught him in a moment of weakness, when he was, for the first time in months, acting out of accordance with his beliefs. Or he just says one thing and actually lives another. If that's what being a tree-hugging dirt worshiper is, I don't want to be one.

(Now you Christians out there catch my drift, don't you? Sometimes we say things about God or Jesus [whether in our words or on our bumpers] up to which our lives don't measure. While every day ought to be characterized by our continual striving for increased virtue and closer discipleship, the truth is that at times we ARE hypocrites, every one of us, Christian or not. Remember that what counts is our overall trajectory: am I bearing the fruit of the Spirit a little more than five years ago? Ten years ago? Do I get back up every time I stumble?)

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