Are you “Christian” enough?
What does a Christian look like? Or how should a Christian act and speak? How many of the things we do and say are simply because we think they make us more Christian in the eyes of those around us? Are we more concerned with how we appear to others than with following Christ?
I don’t ask these questions lightly. They are not light questions. In fact, they strike at the very core of our identity and can reveal things we would rather stay hidden. Because of that, we tend towards avoiding questions like these and honestly evaluating our motives and desires. Instead, we distract ourselves and keep busy performing Christianity for others—doing what we think people and culture expect Christians to do. All the while, wondering why we feel so unfulfilled, miserable, and maybe even a bit lost.
What is Performance Christianity?
Are you worried about how you look to others? (Not in the “do I have tomato sauce on my shirt” sense, but in the “does this look Instagram perfect” sense.) Maybe you find yourself seeking the approval of others as a measure of your Christianity. Or maybe you have settled into the “Christian” box of culture and society, keeping track of what Christians “should” and “shouldn’t” do. But Performance Christianity isn’t really about what we do, as weird as that sounds. Rather, it is about our motives for what we do. And here’s where it gets a bit tricky, because we can convince ourselves that we have the right motives. We need the light of Christ and the Holy Spirit to help us discern our motives and recognize when those motives are self-motivated instead of Christ-motivated…when we are more concerned with gaining praise from men than from the Father.
God is not interested in actors and actresses who can perform in front of crowds, who can “put on a good show.” Jesus harshly rebukes the Pharisees and scribes for this.
“‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, so the outside may also be clean. ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.’” (Matthew 23:25-28, ESV)
God is interested in real people, with all their problems, doubts, and failures. See, Performance Christianity inevitably leads to comparison, to constantly checking whether you are doing better than someone else. And it leads to self-righteousness and despair. The religious leaders of Matthew 23 show us what self-righteousness looks like—though if we’re honest, we have seen it in the mirror quite often.
But the other side of the coin is despair. Because we spend so much time and energy anticipating what other people MIGHT think or say about us, we over-analyze every comment, emoji, and facial expression. It’s exhausting and leaves us feeling emotionally and physically spent before we ever leave our room. Better to stay in solitude because you just don’t measure up to the Instagram version of Christianity playing in your head or on your screen. This kills relationships and community.
Compassion instead of Comparison
But you might ask, why do we keep doing it? Why do we keep measuring our performance against others? Well, for one thing, it can give us a boost to look at others and think, “I’m doing way better than that guy.” Or, “Wow…I would never do what she is doing.” And we begin to build a picture of ourselves. Unfortunately, Isaiah 64:6 tells us that all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before God. And that’s when despair creeps in…because what we do is never quite enough. Which can lead us right back towards comparison with others—and the cycle continues.
Thankfully, there is good news! The gospel (literally “good news”) gives us the way forward. It sets us free from Performance Christianity. We see several times in the gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that Jesus has compassion on the people. This compassion leads to Jesus DOING something for them—teaching, healing, miraculously feeding them. And before that, compassion led Jesus to step down from the throne, enter his creation, live the life we could not live, and die the death we deserved so that we might have life abundant!
The power of the gospel isn’t limited to saving us from our deserved wages of sin. It is much more than that! In the gospel, we find the grace of God sufficient for us to live life abundant. The gospel opens the door to a life we could not even dream about. Through the power of the gospel, we are transferred from darkness to light, from orphan to son, from lost to found. The gospel shatters our myth of self-reliance and self-righteousness. But rather than crushing us, we find that the gospel begins transforming us from the inside. This is how we clean the inside of the cup—by surrendering to the One who is truly righteous.
Conclusion
When struggling with Performance Christianity, small, consistent steps help us move towards compassion and away from comparison.
Take part in Christian community often.
Be honest with God about your struggles and praises.
Pray for other people.
Share the gospel with others.
Look to Scripture, not your screen, for example.
God is not concerned with how well you perform Christianity for others. His desire and purpose is for you to become increasingly conformed to the Son by living out the good works prepared in advance for you to do. (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 2:10) He has given us His living Word and put His Holy Spirit in our heart to guide us. He is revealing the places and areas of our lives where we are reluctant to trust Him. And He has given us a community, the Church, where we can grow in relationship with God and with others. Jesus has done all the work so that you and I can be free. This does not mean we do whatever we want—rather, we are free to live and love abundantly as God designed and desires. We are free to seek after God wholly and honestly, in community with other Christians who desire the same. Won’t you set aside the performance and live in that abundance today?
