Christian teens today are suffering from a type of depression that, although not a true medical disease, it still takes its toll on their mental and emotional lives. It is a battle like I like to call "Christian Equilibrium". It's basically the idea of determining how Christ-like to be toward secular and non-secular friends. It's like when trying to find the perfect temperature in the shower between boiling lava hot or blistering blizzard cold. We all know that the little sliver of perfection is hard to obtain in the first place, and thus will compromise with a lukewarm temperature. It is the common fear of being outcast whenever they bring up the "J" or "G" word. The common pathological misconception is as follows: "Well, if I act TOO Christian, everyone will think I'm goody goody and will think that I think I'm better than them, but if I'm not Christian enough, they will think 'is THAT how a Christian is supposed to act?' and judge my every move and not want to follow Jesus". So they're at a catch 22 here. (Btw I never understood why it's called a catch 22?) Dealing with it alone can be very dangerous, as many will get frustrated and lose their faith altogether, or many will just lose their minds trying to find that perfect Christian shower temperature equilibrium that's just right. How does one solve the mystery of finding that perfect shower temperature Goldilocks porridge/chair/bed perfection? Well fear not kiddies, I think I may have found a plan. Let me first disclose that this is not THE only way to hack it, but it is nonetheless, worth a shot.
Step 1: Reevaluate what you believe, and prioritize your...well priorities.
So what DO you believe? That Jesus died on the cross for your sins. That He is your Lord and Savior. That He rose again on the third day. That God comes in 3 forms. Good. That pretty much sums it up right? Well...no it doesn't. Ok, what else? Matthew 28:19 says:
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Encouraging right? Especially that last part. But does THAT sum everything up for you? Not really. Just kind of a vague command right? The above Scripture is known as the great commission, and basically it tells all followers of Jesus "Hey, forget who you are, what you have, who you know and why you have it, drop everything and go find people who do not know Jesus and TEACH them to obey, even if it makes you uncomfortable or even kills you. Who cares what they think?". A little scary am I right? Many teens don't like the idea of dying, and even more teens dislike the fact of leaving their Xbox or their girlfriend that they just met and fell in love with a week ago behind (I'll admit, it's hard for me to put Skyrim down for 5 minutes). Let's look at what Jesus said about it, Luke 9:23 says:
Then He said to them all: "If ANYONE would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".
Yup. Pretty specific. Jesus once again challenges us to deny ourselves, which basically forces us to prioritize what we consider important in our lives. So really think about what is important to you, and what you believe. Acts 1:8 says
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria , and to the ends of the Earth.
Step 2: Read your Bible and see how Jesus dealt with things.
Who better to teach us about who Jesus is than Jesus Himself? Teens today struggle with the fear of being judged, ridiculed, harassed, outcast and being called a hypocrite, but Jesus went through the same thing. The only difference was He wasn't afraid because He knew what was important to Him, and that was doing God's will. Back then, the Pharisees HATED Jesus because He basically told them that everything that they had believed and practiced through religion was wrong, and He gave His own twist to their culture. Jesus broke some of the laws that the Pharisees thought was the most sacred. Jesus ate on the Sabbath, didn't wash His hands before He ate and so much more. He healed the blind, sick and lame, casted out demons. He kept calling Himself the Messiah, which they didn't believe Him because they weren't doing what they expected Him to do. See, the prophesy basically called for a Savior who would unite all the kingdoms of Israel together through force, it called for a militaristic king, but Jesus came as a humble servant. At that time, they did not know He was the Son of God. So basically, they didn't quite get along too well. But Jesus still treated them with love. Matthew 5: 43 says:
You have heard that it was said 'love neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you.
I know that after you read this verse that you immediately thought of someone you totally do not like right now, and that's ok. It is a hard concept to love one's enemy, especially if that said enemy had been talking that smack behind your back. Ever heard the phrase "kill them with kindness?" Well that's where that comes in. We are all called to love as Jesus did, as God the Father did. Think about it, if God hated us, he wouldn't have sacrificed His only son to die for our sins so that we may live with Him for all eternity. So what good does it for us to hate people just because they hurt us? And if you don't forgive those who do you wrong, neither will God forgive you. It says that clearly in the bible. It's hard for us to forgive because when our pride is broken, we take it personally. We care soo much about our self worth and image, that we often will shun others who dare to compromise it. We think we are better than we are. If you cannot forgive someone who you consider to be your enemy, it is because you do not fully understand the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary, and the sacrifice that was made. My advice? Read the Gospels and look to the cross until you have enough forgiveness to forgive others. Basically, "Forgiven people, forgive people". Back then, the Jews and the Samaritans did NOT get along too well. In fact, it was considered taboo just to get a drink of water from them (which Jesus did btw).
But notice how it said "and in all Judea AND Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth." He didn't say and all Judea, but skip Samaria because they hurt your feelings. Jesus calls us to love those who do not love us first. So if you bring up Jesus, do it proudly, if they criticize you, oh well. Love them anyways. The best way to win is to not even fight at all. So if you ever think that you are alone in this, you're not. Jesus was put on a cross and died because of what He believed and did. He didn't do anything wrong, He was innocent. Jesus said this:
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first". -John 15:18.
Step 3: Find a buddy!
The buddy system is very important when dealing with Christian Equilibrium because it is so easy to forget who we are in Christ when surrounded by those who do not know Him. Ray Vanderlaan says the the 3 most important things in Christianity are:
Scripture
Discipleship (Talmidim in Hebrew)
and Community.
Community meaning fellowship with fellow followers of Jesus. That is why many churches stress so much on youth small groups. While many think it is boring, it is actually a great way to be reflected by who you are by seeing others being who they are in Jesus. An accountability buddy is basically a person who you trust to step in when you're off course and say "Hey man I don't think that what you're doing is right". We need people like that when we forget what is important and we forget what we're doing. This can lead to a stage where we rationalize our sins by saying "oh well one more time won't hurt" or "it'll be fine, no one will know I'm not hurting anybody". Oh but you are my friend, you're hurting yourself. So find yourself someone you can trust in your school who is a follower of Jesus, and basically allow them to conk you on the head if you get out of line.
You're probably thinking how do I know all this? Well, personal experience can be the best teacher, if not the most dangerous. I actually got this epiphany about 30 minutes ago in the shower, and hastily typed this up so I wouldn't forget. I'm 18, fresh out of high school about to start college with a small idea of what I want to do in life. If you've gotten this far into my ranting then I salute you, sir. It is my prayer today that you teens out there in middle and high school don't forget about who you are and what you believe. The school may put a censor on Jesus, but that doesn't mean you should too because you're afraid what others may think of you. It's like a wise man once told me:
"Nobody cares about how much you know, until they know how much you care".
God Bless and I hope you have a wonderful afternoon.
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