So many Christians have the wrong mindset when it comes to relating with and reaching out to the unsaved and the unbelieving. We were at one time just like them, a people who didn't know and who didn't believe in Christ. But we can become so proud of ourselves after we are in Christ.
So much that we think of non-believers as wicked - even just evil people undeserving of grace.
Where did this mindset come from? I'm not an expert about all things, but I'd like to suggest this one thing: the twisting of Scripture, 2 Corinthians 6:14 in particular:
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?"
When love is barred by pride
Many of us have heard and read this verse since the time we became Christian. Many of you might have read it in some of my other articles, because I often use it as reference.
But we can take this verse in such a way that it damages and cripples our love for those who don't know Christ, and that's not right at all.
How do we do that? Simple. We think we are the "righteousness" and the "light" mentioned there, while the unsaved are the "unbelievers," "lawlessness," and "darkness".
Of course, the Bible tells us that because of what Christ has done, if we believe in Him, we are taken out of the dominion of darkness and are transferred into the Kingdom of God's dear Son (see Colossians 1:13). However, it's not because of what we do. It's only because of Christ.
Aren't we hypocrites? We think of ourselves so highly when in fact, we were at one time unbelievers, lawless, and in darkness. We did not save ourselves. We were mere recipients of God's grace through Christ Jesus! And even then, we struggle daily against temptations and sins, needing to be sanctified and turn to God in repentance. We expect grace in those moments of weakness and failure on our walk of faith, but can't extend the same to non-believers who don't even know the Word of God.
How then, did we adopt such a wrong mindset?
Many of us adopt such a condemning mindset because we think we are better than others. We gather in church and stop doing all sorts of "worldly things" unlike other people that we know. We fear being compared or even associated with "sinful" people. We compare our best with their worst, and that is a wrong thing to do.
What to do with it
Now, friends, don't get me wrong. I know how "holier-than-thou" works because at one time I had this kind of mindset: "I'm better than others." I only broke free when I realized that I'm no better than others when I put my faith and righteousness in myself. I realized my pride, and repented of it.
Galatians 6:3 reminds us, "if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself."
Let us remember that without Christ, we are nothing. If not for His atoning sacrifice, we wouldn't have been forgiven. If not for the Son of God, we wouldn't have become children of God. If not for God's grace, we would all be condemned in hell, no matter how much we tried to be good and religious.
Let's all realize that we are mere recipients of God's grace, nothing more, nothing less.
