proud to be...

I just saw a page on Facebook. the title was "I'm Proud To Be A Christian". 4 of my Facebook friends have become fans of the page.

yet my first reaction was, hmm, difficult to describe....revulsion perhaps? yet not quite that strong...

I had to think for a minute or two why that was my gut-level reaction. shouldn't pride in that fact that you've been saved from sin be a good thing? can't you be proud that you have religious freedom?

after reflection, it hit me like a ton of bricks.




pride has absolutely no place in the kingdom of God. pride is the antithesis of a Jesus-follower. pride is the fault of Satan, the reason there is a Hell, the root of any sin conceivable. and yet....and yet it's attached to an individuals "chosen path/religion/status". even if the title of the page had been "I'm proud Christ saved me from myself, my sin, and hell" I'd still feel revulsion, because it is only by the extreme act of grace by God that any person "escapes" his true judgment and is saved from a self-destructive life of sin and bondage.

really, this post reminds me of a slogan: "I'm proud to be an American". they wrote a song about it. you could take pride in your country because you had freedoms and so on and so forth. our highschool cheerleaders had a whole routine to this song that was really powerful and involved an enormous American flag. the point of the slogan? take pride in what you are, because it makes you better than everyone else in the world. (that may be an oversimplification, but it really isn't that far off).

and the page on Facebook, well, it reminds me of that slogan. take pride in what you are (a Christian) because that makes you better than the rest of the world (pagans). yet, it is this world we are trying to reach. and elitism is a form of ostracization, and ostracization from the rest of the world is the opposite of spreading the light of the saving gospel of Jesus.




what would the title of my page be? if I'd ever thought that creating a Facebook page for my faith was a worthy goal, and I had to follow that form of a title....humm....I think "I'm Proud of Jesus and His Cross" is closer to Paul's boasting. because then the focus is no longer any "status" I've attained but rather the focus is on Jesus and what He has accomplished on my behalf.