What Does it Mean to Declare Your Christianity?

Yes, my inspiration came from church this morning.  This is obvious as Sunday is probably the day when I'm thinking about God the most. (I really ought to be thinking about God all days of the week.  I'm working on that.)

Anyway.  Today in Sunday school we were talking about our Christian faith as we often do.  This usually leads to talking about the people who don't have our Christian faith.  Like atheists.  What are we supposed to think about them?  We can't love them, can we?  They don't love God, so surely there are forsaken, right?  No!  Obviously with Christian teachings you can't think like this.

A lot of the time I feel like that's how Christians are viewed by atheists, and maybe even by a lot of other people too.  Sometimes I feel I'd like to apologize.  But for what?  For being a Christian?  Isn't that a good thing?  That's what I've always been told when I was younger.  If you are a Christian then you are a good person.  That's always been the understanding of who we are and how we operate.  You've been doing some bad things lately and you want to change your life?  You want to be a Christian you say?  Okay.  BAM.  Automatic good person.  Right?  Many people use it as a higher status.  I won't deny I've felt superior as a Christian before.  Oh come on, we've all done it.  (That is, of course, if you are a Christian.)

Often times Christianity is used as a status.  It's seen as something to glorify a person in a way that, well, when you really think about it, Christianity doesn't really do. What I've come to find out over the past few years is this:

When I declare that I am a Christian I am saying that I am an imperfect being.  I can't be a good person all by myself.  I'm declaring that I fail often and I lean on my church and my fellow believes to help my get back up again to succeed.  Maybe by saying I'm a Christian I'm declaring that I'm less superior to others because I need help in life.  I wouldn't go to church if I didn't need help and guidance.   In school we never want to admit that we need a tutor in math.  The superior kids are the ones who know what they're doing without any help, right? Think about it.  So maybe a better way to look at Atheists are the kids who don't think they need any help in math but eventually they won't get that great of a grade.  Hard work pays off, you know.  Do you hate someone who is struggling in math because they refuse to do things the way that will help them the most?  Sometimes, maybe.  That doesn't mean we should, but it also doesn't mean we should parade our Christianity like a gilded crown, either.

 In some instances, Christianity could be looked at as an affliction.  If you have anxiety, wouldn't you take anxiety pills to help calm you down?  So in this case, Church is my medication for a disease called being a human.