response 6

Responses to people’s objections for being a Christian

• Expectations. I don’t want anyone to expect anything from me. If I was a Christian, then other people would expect me to act a certain way or think a certain way. I don’t want to be placed in any category. I am a complex person.Also, I don’t want to be expected to give money to a church. If I am supposed to give, what is it, 10% of my income to the church, what am I going to be left with? I already give a ton of money to taxes. How do I know what they are going to do with my money anyway?

This is more an objection to being part of a Christian community. If I join a church there will be things people expect from me. What does this mean? If it means I am expected to trust in certain basic teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Bible and follow them then that is a reality. If it means we all have to try to think the same thoughts, that is not possible and our goal is to have the mind of Christ, anyway. Would that we would grow to think more and more as he would think if he were us.

If this means we have to act the same would that it were more so. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we acted identically in areas such as (all biblical examples):

1. “outdo one another in honoring the other”


2. “think of others as better than yourself”


3. “as it possible for you, live in peace”


4. “tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

As far as tithing goes, it is a spiritual growth tool, not some kind of money making scam. If God wants his mission funded, he gets it funded. He doesn’t need a dime from us. He calls on Christians to tithe to teach them about getting too obsessed about something that is not theirs in the first place. People worry about money. Worry is a lack of trust. God wants trust. He builds in a mechanism to help us make progress in trust.