n the spirit of that great theologian, Jeff Foxworthy, I present to you some rambling thoughts in my head, all completed by the phrase “you might be misrepresenting God”…
- If your message is not filled with hope, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you tell people that they need to come to you to understand the message of scripture, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that “being real” means talking more about the wind and waves in your life than about the One who calms the storm, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that people who don’t attend a Sunday morning meeting are outside of God’s covering and protection, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that sickness, financial problems, hurricanes, broken bones, auto accidents, and terrorist attacks are all tools of God “to teach you something”, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that a person can’t live above their circumstances and walk in peace and victory, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that someone is not being real unless they tell you they’re struggling with some huge temptation, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that the only legitimate types of prayer for a Christian are prayers of lament, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you tell someone who is experiencing the peace and joy of the Lord to “hang on, your turn is coming”, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you believe that only “properly authorized leaders” are capable of serving communion or baptizing others, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you believe that Christianity is best represented by a set of propositional statements and/or a systematic theology, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If your message does not lead to freedom, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that the Father doesn’t speak to his children in various ways, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that America is “God’s chosen country” and that everything America’s foreign policy represents is ordained by God, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that the Republican party is “God’s party, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that religion and Christianity are compatible, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that you can only “cooperate” in ministry and missions with people who have been baptized by a pastor in your same denomination, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that true Christianity is only represented by a particular denomination or systematic theology, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If your belief in Christ does not manifest itself in living the life that Christ commanded us to live, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that you are more capable of articulating what someone else believes than that very person is capable of doing, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you believe that sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, freedom to the captives, and walking to the lame were only for first-century “verification of the message”, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that the only legitimate way to articulate one’s belief in God is found in a 4th-century statement, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that our main responsibility in relationship to God is to study the Bible, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that “everyone needs to have a pastor”, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you believe that leaving the institutional church is what the writer of Hebrews meant when he wrote, “Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together”, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that a relationship with God means that you will accept or reject certain styles of music, certain hairstyles, certain beverages, or hanging out with certain people, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you think that Jesus turned water into mere grape juice, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you believe that a particular translation of the bible is the only inspired version, you might be misrepresenting God.
- If you believe that one’s beliefs about baptism, bible translation, rapture timing, tongues, or a particular interpretation of Genesis 1-2 are absolute essentials to salvation and/or fellowship, you might be misrepresenting God.
This is an excellent list. Thanks for compiling and posting it. I know that I have struggled with different items listed at various points in my life and probably still today!
Steve,
I LOVE it. You seem to have captured what so many are feeling these days.
I stumbled across your site and found this to be an excellent list that is thought provoking and so very true.
I Like it ! … thanks.
Awesome post,stumbled to your stumble post,which brought me here,you put into type,exactly the way I feel. I thank you for that
Interesting musings but no biblical defense. His ways re higher than ours. I agree with most of it but the Word is the issue
If you stick to this list and the majority of the things on it you might be misrepresenting God. I think anyone who takes scripture from the Bible and tries to explain it away is misrepresenting God. You need to be careful because you are coming dangerously close here and we will all be held accountable for everything we’ve said while we are here, especially on behalf of God.
As for miracles being for those in the Bible and not us in our day, I’ve been a part of and seen too many to think that could be true, glad to see you feel the same way, or at least that’s the way I’m reading what you wrote…
Overall a nice post but I have one small disagreement.
If you think that the Republican party is “God’s party, you might be misrepresenting God.
If there ever was a party that represented God it would be the Republican party. They are the party that pushes forward the most Christian platform in America. The Dems are giddy pro-abortionists that love to tax the successful and push a socialist platform. Doesn’t sound very Godly to me.
To those who have taken issue with one or more of the points in this excellent list, I would like to submit one more:
If you have pursued God–not just said a cordial good morning on Sunday or good evening on Wednesday night, but have really sought hard after Him when it hurts–if you have endured the darkness of lonely nights and moments of unexplained silence in your pursuit of this dangerous God–if you have cried after God with your whole heart and pursued God with a passion–if after all of that, you can so easily take offense when someone dares to point out that God just might not fit into your box–I would like to humbly suggest that you might not just be misrepresenting God, you may be misunderstanding your own pursuit of Him.
The longer I seek Him, the greater He illumines my own deep need of Him–and my sin shouts so loudly I cannot hear yours.
Good day!
It is very informative and has a very good quality in it.
I like it…
http://www.Squidoo.com/MPI
mliragana.blogspot.com
Thank you very much for your time.
Great list! Have enjoyed reading several of the articles- Keep at it. Have bookmarked this and will link it to my blog for others to read and think over.
Especially liked…
# If you think that our main responsibility in relationship to God is to study the Bible, you might be misrepresenting God.
I love and believe my Bible, but I like Jesus’ words- Blessed are you if you do them.
John Johnson
http://www.pluslife.wordpress.com
Overall I think you do a nice job on this list which was no doubt inspired by comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s famous “You Might be a Redneck If…” routine. I would have been more careful singling out a political ideology and left it simply at “If you think your political affiliation is the one Jesus would belong to you’re misrepresenting God”. There are good servants of the Lord that come from all political stripes– Democrat, Republican, Independents, and my own personal small “l” libertarian point of view. I have voted for Democrats (with the qualifier that they MUST be pro-Life– any other view is most certainly incompatible with God’s own love of each life he’s created and lent his divine spark to), Republicans, Independents, and Libertarians.
Picking on Republicans- which as a lifelong professional direct marketing copywriter I am fairly certain was no accident- only serves to contradict the entire point of this otherwise outstanding thread. Something I’m sure was not deliberate but which will certainly result from this is that it will discredit you as politically biased, and potentially marginalize your entire blog.
Doctrine is a tough enough topic to tackle without the transparent injection of your personal political bias.
Just “keeping it real” (and writing as a fan)
)
Paul, I appreciate your comment, and your point has a lot of validity.
The only reason I specifically mentioned the Republican party is because I have not heard people make the claims about any other party that I have heard made about the Republican party.
Having said that, though, your point stands and it should have been phrased more neutrally.
Thanks for the input.
This post may have been useful 20 years ago.
But the modern church has is far from being legally bound by the moral law.
Too much freedom is just as fatal as too much law.
Having seen both sides, this comes across a bit to liberal, emergent wishy washy.
Seek hard after righteousness
Glad you said “might” each time. Most of your statements are spot on as the British say. God Bless you.
As a person who has heard George Bush (the first one) preached as “God’s man for America, I agreed with most of these statements years ago, but have never seen them so well articulated.
It’s too bad that it’s hard to find a single church that just fits everyone. Or maybe it’s me that doesn’t fit.
where have you been all my life
i am not kidding
i have struggled with every line of this in my life
i stopped going to church because i have met too many christians in my life who did every line in this to me and act if not insist something is wrong with me and not with them
i know the battle is not against flesh and blood
but still the devil has help- some christians have been the most hurtful and hateful poeple in my life
using gods name to further their opinions
proverbs 3:5 states lean no on your own understanding but i have also learned not to lean on anyone elses – christians are not god
never have been arent and never will be
i myself have been thinking about this
we are instructed not to bear false witness against our neighbor
i have met “christians” who have bore false witness against god – i am single at 35
i was told god called me to be single to serve him instead
i cant have kids
i was told god wanted me to adopt so made the
choice easier – ok do some christians not realize they dont know gods motives on anything let alone a person they dont know
sorry to say this but after meeting so many bad christians – i kind of get why christians were persecuted back then because too many have persecuted me – i even went to therapy to try to sort it out – christians – not atheists – have stolen hope, any reason to believe good things will happen to be because its just not gods will for me – i know the batte is not against flesh and blood – but to all you bad christians
ill let god decide if you are christian
i forgive you but i need to forget you as well
and your junk you put in my mind
and also
listen to the eagles – get over it
because you bad christians who spoke for god
youre not god get over it!!!!!!!
(im not speaking to anyone in this forum)
hey steve
i was duped when i was younger
republican party is not synonymous with being a christian
the republican may have some christians
but so does the democratic
i totally got that line and 100% relate
republican does mean christian party
kathryn, thank you for your comments. I’m glad this resonated with you!
So perhaps it is possible that many miracles are not being performed here in the west, even by people of great faith, because there is a tremendous amount of unbelief toward those things.
Please explain this one….
If you believe that leaving the institutional church is what the writer of Hebrews meant when he wrote, “Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together”, you might be misrepresenting God.
Please explain this one….
If you believe that leaving the institutional church is what the writer of Hebrews meant when he wrote, “Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together”, you might be misrepresenting God.
I know this is a bit of an old post. I came across this while looking for Bible verses for my misguided brother. I have not found what I’m looking for, but I do have one more for this list:
If you do not take in consideration how your audience (not target audience, but actual audience) is perceiving your actions or words before expressing your faith to them, you might be misrepresenting God.
Another version might be:
If you equate being offended by your words or actions with being offended by your faith, you might be misrepresenting God.
Is it not time that god gets down here and represent himself!!
Hi Steve,
I was wondering if you’d consider granting me permission to post (with attribution) some of these points on my own site, or on my Facebook wall. I don’t want to change them at all, just post one every so often.
Thanks,
Larry