In his book, “Faith and Doubt,” John Ortberg quotes an atheist named Steven Weinberg: “Good people do good things, and bad people do bad things, but to get good people to do bad things, that takes religion.” Ortberg counters that atrocities committed in the name of Christ are not the outcome of Jesus’ teaching on loving one’s enemies and, that societies which have actively suppressed genuine Christian faith produced the greatest human suffering in the 20th century. I should add that the assertion of the so-called “new atheists” that communism and fascism are secular religions in order to support their thesis that religion is evil simply doesn’t hold water. It also ignores the reality that people of faith have done so much good when it comes to health care, schooling and care for the disadvantaged. Nevertheless, Ortberg admits that “this objection of ‘unChristian Christians’ troubles my faith a lot,” and that, “in my darker moods, the low percentage of Christians who really seem to be moving on the path to ‘new creaturehood’ troubles my faith. And the lack of progress that troubles me the most is my own.”
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. – Matthew 12:34
We all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. – James 3:2
I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle …” — Psalm 39:1
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.” — Psalm 141:3
I can relate to what Ortberg writes. And perhaps I can see this phenomenon that Orberg calls “unChristian Christians’ most often in the way that those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus have bought into the moral and materialistic values of secular society, and how we tend to speak about others in rather negative and judgmental ways, possibly in an attempt to make us feel better about ourselves. Even prayer requests can take the form of spreading gossip. And what worries me the most is when I see this trend in myself. I used to excuse negativity when it comes to the way I speak as being the result of my upbringing. That is no longer good enough and this brings me to the verses I quoted above.
Jesus’ words in Matthew are said in the context of the Pharisees claiming that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Satan. The words we speak reveal what is in our hearts, that is, what we really are like and what we truly believe. This is likely why we read in Ephesians 5:4 that crude language and filthy jokes are simply out of place for believers. James makes the point that being able to exercise control over what we say is likely the most difficult of all self-disciplines. In Psalm 39, the psalmist shows his determination to hold his tongue, but if we read on he fails miserably when he gets angry (v.3). In Psalm 141, the prayer is an indication that controlling our tongue is only possible with God’s help.
The longer I am a believer the more I’ve experienced that my character, thoughts, actions, attitudes and words, reflect my spiritual “temperature,” that is, how close I am to God and how cognizant I am of His presence and His love for me. With regard to how I speak, the more I am aware of and in touch with God, the more I am able to “guard my mouth,” because then God Himself is at work within me – He keeps watch over the doors of my lips,” and when He does, it is then that the label of “unChristian Christian” simply no longer applies.
