There is, what I’d call, a branch of Christianity that in my view contradicts the purpose of Christianity itself, which at its heart is about loving God and loving our neighbor. Instead, this branch seems obsessed with the self–how WE interact with God; and how WE emotionally respond (or not) to our neighbor. A kind of keeping score of “how we’re doing.” There’s a “ME” quality to it that is just, well… off.
Contrast this “Me” Christianity with the words of Jesus himself in Matthew 25:31-46 (the “Sheep and Goats” passage):
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
–Matthew 25:34
Do you notice there’s nothing about us here?
Clearly, Jesus is saying that the “fruit” of the tree is what truly matters. That “faith without works is dead.” If we truly are all about love, have “perfect peace,” or some other description for an “ascended state” of being, then there should be some real-world proof of that. There should be “fruit on the tree.”
We should be shining examples of Christians who are truly making the world a better place.
Stating our opinions ad nauseum is not a substitute for helping our families, communities, and nation. “Causing dissention among brothers” while giving little attention to the truly evil who are destroying our world before our eyes obviously demonstrates a corrupted view of priorities.
These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
-Proverbs 6:16-19
It’s instructive that King Solomon called this seventh thing the Lord hates an “abomination.”
What CAUSES “Narcissistic Christianity”?
This is an interesting question, and I don’t claim to have deep insight into the answer. What I do notice is commonalities. I’ve seen this trait in myself, and I believe it is related to Jesus’ exhortation that we “be perfect as our Father is perfect.”
I think some of us have taken this to mean that somehow we should attempt to perfect ourselves. Most of the guilty would likely blow this notion off immediately. “No–I’m letting GOD perfect me!” Then why the anxious spirit for “progress”? The hypervigilance? (A friend asked me to look up this term, and now I see why!)
Hypervigilance is related to TRAUMA–and I think this hits the nail on the head as to causation. Looking at the lives of myself and some in my circle of friends and associates, we have all been subject to early-life trauma (this is true of everybody to one extent or another, but some are more traumatized than others).
Early trauma–which could be sexual or violence-related–is almost surely linked to this “hypervigilant” state of mind. It tends to cause a certain ISOLATION–it did in me. I somehow sensed “sin” in my family, which was being passed into me (as happens with every child), and I consciously or unconsciously SEPARATED myself from them–and by extension, others. I STILL carry some of this with me today. For instance, I like to work and live alone as much as possible–to the detriment of my relationship with my family and others.
I believe other friends and associates I know went through similar circumstances. I think the difference is that I can see the dysfunction still remaining in myself, while some others seemingly do not. To the contrary, they have placed themselves instead in a HIGHER position (I know they would vehemently deny that, yet I know people who have declared themselves “sin free” who clearly are not).
I haven’t heard this discussed much before, which is one reason I’m putting it out here.
I believe it is all a trick of the Devil, who allows us to “see” ourselves “objectively,” yet his “seeing” is not true seeing, and does not bring about a truly fully-functional human being. Almost everybody else can see this about us, but for some reason, WE cannot! We lack true objectivity.
The “Cure”
I am not claiming I’ve been anywhere near “fully cured” of this problem yet. But as something of a “progress guidepost,” I’d say that being able to truly interact with others, and be OPEN to what they may tell us–without rushing to a response/argument/self-justification, may just provide the “shock” our system needs to help us “reboot to factory settings.”
I do hope this article does some good. And if it has struck a nerve in you, feel free to respond. But keep in mind this article refers to many people to one degree or another. Your believing you need to respond might be because you represent an obvious example of the problem. Bear in mind I am not casting a stone at you, I am exposing something we can ALL benefit from.
Please keep your response brief and to the point. This is not a free-for-all. If you’re into that kind of thing, then you’re free to engage in it on YOUR OWN platform (if you have one). As always, I reserve the right to remove any comment or comments that I feel detract from the point of this article… Ah–the evil ;) ”censorship!”
I’m just asking you to take an honest look at yourself, just as I endeavor to do in my life–and then let’s go make a positive difference in our family, community, and world!
Patrick Rooney is the Founder of OldSchoolUs.com. He promotes natural health, success, and freedom during chaotic times. To reach Patrick, email him at info@oldschoolus.com.
Didn’t Paul go to Peter and rebuke him for what he was doing and giving in to the pressure of the Jews to perform some kind of ritual with his followers to appease them? Christians have always rebuked one another since the days of Christ telling Peter, “get behind me Satan.”
It is how the churches kept holy by making sure our own house is clean before we accuse another neighbor of having a dirty house. Initially, when you prune a tree, it looks horrible, but it makes for a better plant come the spring.
Urs, Martin, rebuking “our own” is a Christian thing to do… that’s what I just did.
Yes Martin, and it is easy to dismiss someone who calls out a great evil in our own ranks, and censor them, by judging he isn’t doing things to be helpful to people, as best he is able to. There’s a real moral blindness in our side, and it needs to be seen.