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Fallen Natures
"Fallen natures assimilate as they sink"
- George MacDonald.
As we follow Christ our characters will become more alike while our personalities become increasingly different.
To those on the outside, many Churches appear to be cults. Can those on the outside be trusted to make right judgements? I think they can (when it is not just an excuse) because God has placed a sense of right and wrong in all of our hearts. Non-believers can sense when something is amiss.
When Christians conform to a certain personality type they are not following Christ but someone who is admired within that Church. If we are to be followers of Christ we must not try and adopt what we think is a Christian personality, to do so is soul destroying (no wonder so many people leave certain denominations).
As we follow Christ we will increasingly become different rather than similar. We have different personalities, different talents and different strengths. We are all individuals; God made us that way and the more like Christ I become the less like you I will be. God does not want us to be all alike. Yet there is a paradox here that we must not overlook.
If you and I follow Christ we will both become braver, kinder and more sensitive. As we follow Christ our characters will become more alike while our personalities become increasingly different. We will all be made like Christ yet we will all be more ourselves (more different) as we become like Jesus. This is attractive and it brings, and will bring, glory to God.
If a group of people are assimilating in their personalities they are not following Christ, it is a mark of a weak character, and it is also a mark of a cult. (Many people look at particular groups of Christians and think they are like Ned Flanders, in The Simpsons, while that may be an exaggeration there is non-the-less some truth in it.)
In a cult people begin to lose their personality as they follow the example of the cult leader or leaders. This type of thing is to be expected in the world but we should not see this in the Church. People are rightly turned off when they see Christians who look as though they have been mass produced. If we are truly following Christ the world will see that Christians are a brave, honest, kind group of people and yet they will see that Christians are the most mixed group with the most distinct personalities.
If we are to be free we must forget about what we think we should look like and set our hearts on doing what Jesus told us to do. Satan will try to deceive us. Satan, the deceiver who claims to be the one true God and the creator of this world, deals in images (e.g. beautiful words, beautiful pictures, outward appearances and feelings) but God deals in truth. The truth has a power that beautiful words and images cannot compete with. If we are so concerned with what the world or other Christians think that it influences our behaviour we will find that we are not able to follow Christ. "The fear of man will prove to be a snare" (Pro 29:25).
We should not let the fear of what men might do govern our behaviour. We must be willing to look like fools if we are going to follow Jesus. (There is a difference between looking like a fool and being one. See Everybody's Fools (Ch 24) in The Call by Os Guinness to see what a real fool for Christ looks like.)
Be willing to look like a fool for Christ. Make yourself vulnerable by doing the right thing even when you are afraid or you think it will make you look silly and you will be well on your way to becoming an individual and yet more like Christ. Character will be developed. (But be sure that you temper what you do with wisdom. See below)
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Footnotes:
If you are willing to look foolish for Jesus (that is to humble yourself) then you have the right attitude to engage in apologetics. We are told to be as gentle as doves but as wise as serpents. If you want people to think seriously about Jesus because of the way you interact with them I strongly recommend the DVDs
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