It took me a long time to figure out how to even start this article. Even as a writer, I find this topic exceedingly difficult to put into words. But for the sake of all the ‘bad Christians’ out there, I’ll do my best.

In order for me to convey such a complex situation, however, I’m going to break it down into pieces:

1. As believers and followers of Christ, we are called to be set apart and different.
2. As human beings, we have schedules, responsibilities, and cultural influences.
3. Points 1 and 2 do not mesh well together for most people. However, there are a select few that totally OWN those points. Because of those blessedly capable persons, the rest are (self) labeled ‘bad Christians.

Being a Christian is hard. It is ridiculously hard. If anyone ever thinks that Christians have it all together, they are terribly, terribly wrong. As a Christian, you have several battles that you are constantly facing all the time; the battle against temptation/sin, the battle against cultural influences, and the battle to actively live Christ.

The last one is the hardest. Probably because the first two don’t really help you achieve that goal. Humans are creatures of habit. We fall into schedules, patterns (don’t you dare take my self-assigned seat in class!), and habits. And, lucky us, the worst enemy of actively living Christ is habit.

Go to class, go to chapel, have lunch, do homework, go to class, go to work, do homework, watch some Netflix, go to bed.

Sound familiar? That’s usually the average day of Cairn college students, give or take a few ‘work on this project’, ‘hang with this group’, and so on. Inherently, there doesn’t seem to be much wrong with this schedule. You’re taking care of your responsibilities (class, homework), you’re getting God-time in (chapel), you’re being an adult (work and taking care of yourself/food), and you’re getting some time to relax (Netflix, bed). The problem isn’t in the list itself. It’s between the lines that the troubles arise.

When you go to class, what’s your attitude? About 60-75% of my classmates usually had an attitude of ‘crap, here we go again..’ (even I’m guilty of that attitude sometimes).

Red flag number one popping up between the lines; that’s not actively living Christ.

In chapel, do you actually listen to the speaker, or do you sit and play on your phone? (Again, I’ve been guilty of this before too).

If you’re doing everything except listening to the speaker, you’re not actively living Christ.

Do you get really angry at your teacher when you’re doing your homework because you feel like the assignment is really stupid? (Guilty again).

Yep, you guessed it; not actively living Christ.

And, finally; do you get annoyed and irritated at work because you have to deal with stupid or frustrating people? (guilty guilty)

Not living Christ.

So the tl;dr of the above; there’s a 90% chance that you’re not actively living Christ.

But wait! What about that glorious 10%? The people that serve with a smile, praise God despite tough assignments, trust in Him to adjust their attitudes at work/class, etc. That 10%, and human nature, have created something that the Church REALLY needs to combat; the often self-assigned title of ‘Bad Christian’.

The thoughts of a ‘Bad Christian’ are as follows;

I got really mad at that person and I’ve been bitter about it for days. I must be a bad Christian because I can’t forgive.

I just talked with a bunch of non-Christian friends and I didn’t try to share the Gospel with them. I must be a bad Christian because I’m too nervous to share Christ.

I totally tuned out the pastor today at church and didn’t really care. I must be a bad Christian because I’m getting apathetic.

I could go on and on for 20 more pages, but I’ll stop here. I think you get the idea.

Truth is, these thoughts come about because people are constantly comparing themselves to others: that one classmate always talks about Jesus and seems to have everything together, so he must be a good Christian. I’m not like him at all, so I must be a bad Christian.

Maybe you feel that way a lot (I know I have), but here’s the thing, and I’ll break it down for you nice and easy;

There’s no such thing as a good Christian.

I’m going to repeat that again because it is so important:

There is no such thing as a good Christian.

If there was such a thing as a good Christian, why did Christ have to come die on the cross? If there was such a thing as a good Christian, why would God send us SO much help throughout the whole Bible?

There’s no such thing as a good Christian. The difference between the ‘bad Christians’ and the ‘good Christians’ is easier said than done; Actively living Christ.

See? I came full-circle, that earlier bit wasn’t just a rant.

The people you think are ‘good Christians’ are actually just striving to actively live Christ. Doing that is really hard! We are sinful creatures; we aren’t wired to have God on our mind all the time. You have to fight for it. And in today’s culture, that’s incredibly difficult. You have to actively choose to read your Bible instead of watch that funny Markiplier video. You have to actively choose to do devotionals instead of clicking on that ‘next episode’ button. You have to actively choose to adjust your attitude when you’re having a bad day.

Active choice is insanely hard. Our minds and bodies like to involuntarily choose the path of least resistance and the path that will bring us most immediate comfort. Really stressed out? Instead of reading the Bible and searching for some meaningful verses, we’re a lot more likely to turn to Youtube or Netflix because it doesn’t require any effort.

Our life is made up of active and involuntary choices. I actively chose what I would wear today, but habit dictated that I thoughtlessly check my messages this morning instead of do my devotions. Actively living Christ takes a huge life-switch and a ton of commitment. But if you do it enough, then actively living Christ becomes a part of your daily life! Granted, you still have to fight for it; cultural influences are ever-present and in our current community it’s much more ‘relaxing’ and ‘enjoyable’ to blabber on about your favorite TV show instead of discussing the deep struggles of life and faith. Tobymac hit the nail on the head in his song In The Air when he muses that “we never got around to spiritual matters, but we sure made time for our mindless chatter”.

How often do we actively choose our topic conversation? We’d rather whine about cafeteria food or complain about the Presidential Election than actually talk spiritual depths with our friends. And when you graduate, and the friends around you at work on a daily basis are non-believers, that choice could make a world of difference.

Maybe right now, in the Cairn bubble, it doesn’t seem like that big a deal. After all, you’re busy; you’ve got 18 credits, a job, and you actually want to spend time with your friends every now and then instead of being a hermit. You’re surrounded by Christian people, getting Christian knowledge pumped into you day in and day out. Why not be a little mindless right now?

I get you. I totally understand. I’ve been there, I had the same classes, the same assignments, the same insane workload that makes you have several mental breakdowns throughout the course of the semester.

But here’s the thing; when you step out of the Cairn bubble, and you’re suddenly working two jobs, surrounded by non-Christians and juggling finances, you’re going to slip back into the habits you formed during your college years. So if you let yourself have meaningless babble all the time during every day of college, guess what you’re going to be talking about at lunch or around the watercooler with coworkers?

Now don’t get me wrong, discussing regular things is important to help build bridges, connections, and relationships. But if that’s all you ever talk about, then you are not making much of an impact on someone’s life. This doesn’t mean bash them over the head with a Bible. This means to watch your speech. When a coworker is complaining about a client or the boss, try to be sympathetic but don’t join in on the bashing. Make sure your speech is uplifting, that it reflects Christ in you. And when the time comes to get serious, take that chance.

You’re a bad Christian.

I’m a bad Christian.

All Christians are bad Christians.

If we weren’t bad Christians, then Christ died for nothing. What we need to focus on, instead of constantly comparing ourselves to other Christians, is actively living Christ.

So stop reading and go make active choices. The world is out there, and you can be the Christ-like influence it so desperately needs.