Attacks from the inside
One of the things that has shocked me the most about becoming a Christian is being attacked by other Christian’s. It’s so weird and de-stabilizing to find yourself the subject of gossip or slander, or find that your decisions or words are judged by people that you thought were on the same side. I’ve never experienced anything like it.
When you are a newbie it can be a little disorientating making you question yourself, like I know that I have a lot to learn but there can be times when it’s like having the Bible thrown in my face and and used as a weapon.
Before I go any further let me just say that this is not all Christians by any means and that 95% of those I interact with our lovely and supportive and often generous and kind with their time and support in ways that go above and beyond. I have two Christian friends who have taken it upon themselves to offer me weekly mentoring to help me learn and grow. It’s so amazing to receive the love and support of the Christian community.
But there I am just going about my day when bam, I’m suddenly the subject of someone’s Facebook post being called a Pharisee because I removed their comment on my post and said ‘there’s no need to be rude.’
I’m super conscious on here that Christians have a bad reputation for being rude and judgmental so when I see a comment that isn’t written with kindness I do address it, and maybe that makes me some kind of snowflake, but it’s not actually about me but the people reading. Because my main aim to write posts is to show Christianity in a light to people like me who though it was stupid all their life but might be slightly open to seeing a different point of view.
When someone who called themselves a Christian starts showing themselves to be rude, lacking empathy and showing aggression then they are pretty much sabotaging my attempts.
We can only give what we have received ourselves, so my heart goes out to anyone who feels the need to criticise someone for not having the exact Bible quote to hand, rather than meet them in a compassionate and graceful way.
However I need boundaries on this page so if someone repeatedly acts unkindly (and I’m very strict on my boundary on what I consider to be unkind), then I delete and block.
It was explained to me by a friend that one of the reasons Christians can be so judgmental and unkind to each other is that they are targeted by the ‘religious spirit’, a demonic spirit that infiltrates the church to seed division and push people towards a false, legalistic version of Christianity. When we are in-fighting we are not able to do the work God is calling us to do and are sabotaging it for others. Satan loves it.
I’ve held off writing this post on the other occasions I’ve been slandered and criticised for just trying to do my thing as don’t want to come across as simply emotionally venting, but I feel like it’s important to share because I know this happens to others and it can feel so isolating when the ‘side’ you think will support you is actually full of people who want to bring you down.
If and when it happens to you, you are not alone.
Thank God for those who put kindness first.
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