Am I a Cultural Christian?

One of the questions I’ve wrestled with for much of my life is “What is a Christian?” America is known as a “Christian nation” – what does that mean? If you travel much, you often see people of other faiths turned off to the idea of Christianity not because of what Jesus taught, but because of how Americans live.

American = Christian

In many parts of the world, the word “Christian” is equated with the American lifestyle:

rich (7X more than the avg person)

overweight (74% of population)

loud & disrespectful

In fact, in a lot of countries, to say you are a Christian gets you branded as someone who embraces a lot of disagreeable behaviors. Saying you are a “Christ follower” instead may allow you to have a conversation you might not have been able to otherwise have.

What did Jesus teach?

If anything, the lifestyle Jesus asked his followers to embrace was the opposite of the way American Christians are perceived. He said:

• Be humble (“poor in spirit”)1.

• Pursue righteousness and mercy17.

• Love your enemies: “Turn the other cheek” and “pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:38-44)7.

Jesus asks those of us who follow him to live a life of self-denial. He taught that discipleship requires taking up one’s cross daily. (Luke 9:23)

American cultural Christianity

For a lot of Americans, being a Christian means going to church on Sunday and saying a prayer “accepting Jesus as your savior.” Of course, Jesus didn’t define his followers that way. Yes, he said you must believe in him, but he emphasized the mark of a disciple as being those who do what he said: “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” John 14:23

So how do you know if your faith is cultural or real? Perhaps a good place to begin is by looking at what Jesus taught and did and ask “do I do that?” His teachings prompt the following questions:

Am I humble?

Do I seek righteousness?

Am I merciful?

Am I a peacemaker?

Do I practice what Jesus said?

Do I get angry?

Do I judge others?

Do I swear?

Am I a giver?

Do I love others?

Or, do I define myself as a Christian because I associate with other Christians?

Jesus didn’t want followers who were confused about their priorities. Three times in Luke 9 we see people wanting to follow him only to have him question their priorities. What would he say to you about your priorities? Would he see you as a follower or as a cultural Christian?