“THE ROOT OF MEANNESS”

24 “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.”

Proverbs 22:24-25

I’m sure I’m not the only one who heard someone say, “I’m done with church. Now, it’s just between Jesus and me.”

If you’ve met someone who has had a series of bad experiences with Christians. If they never felt welcome, if they were ignored by the church’s leadership, or were embarrassed from the pulpit, can you really blame them for disconnecting from the church? Can we actually love Jesus but stay away from His church?

Mean Christians

One of the tragic reasons why people choose not to go to church is the behavior of some Christians—we sometimes are mean. In fact, some surveys even found that unchurched people think that Christians are about as trustworthy as car salesmen and lawyers.

I’m not about to let myself off the hook here. I sometimes act in ways that people find offensive. Sometimes, unbelievers can show more grace and love than I do.

Let’s talk about our verse of the day.

Solomon said that associating with angry, mean people can lead to heartbreaking, regretful consequences. He understood what a person becomes by choosing the kind of people he befriends. So, in this passage, he discourages people from buddying up with hot-tempered individuals.

I think this is wise advice, considering what a person might say or do in the heat of the moment—he could ruin his life and reputation in a matter of seconds!

With that in mind, to claim to be a Christian and be mean doesn’t work. But where does this meanness come from? 

It can be rooted in different sources, including a wrong sense of entitlement. We sometimes overemphasize our status as “chosen ones” and “members of God’s family,” which leads us to look down on those who don’t belong to our group.

It can also come from a misunderstanding of God’s grace. We feel that since God is a forgiving God, it’s okay to be rude and blunt to others. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness later, and voila, we have a clean slate!

This behavior can also stem from forgetting that we were only shown mercy. While we are grateful for the forgiveness that we received, we are not very willing to extend the same mercy to those who owe us (Matthew 18:21-35).

So, if we think this way, then why should we condemn those who stay away from the church? Let's take a pause and evaluate our interactions with people. May God help us become better ambassadors of His message.

Pursue the Savior today!

Photo by Galih Jelih on Unsplash