In Defense of Expectations of Proper Christian Conduct

The greatest of these is love

On a message board I frequent which consists of a large number of conservative, Christian posters, a common complaint levied against fellow members is one of poor Christian conduct. “How very Christian of you,” is a ubiquitous one-liner hurled at those vocally-Christian posters who have the temerity to demonstrate angry, vituperative, or otherwise unbecoming behavior. After a period of time, someone commented that such replies were not only useless, they weren’t fair. Christians aren’t perfect and shouldn’t necessarily be held to a certain standard of conduct. There is no litmus test against which to judge proper Christian behavior.

Many people rallied around this idea, asserting that it was unrealistic to expect Christians to be held to a higher standard than non-Christians and that Christians are merely human, therefore expected to behave in naturally human ways. My own gut feeling was that Christians should be held to a certain level of acceptable conduct, but at first I was unable to articulate why I felt this way.

Intrigued by the discussion, I began my own research into the matter and discovered with relative ease that not only was my gut feeling pretty accurate, there are theological underpinnings (both scriptural and validated by Church tradition) that support my theory.

The Rite of Baptism

The first question I considered was, “What is a Christian?” This question is itself a bit of a touchy subject (just ask your local Mormon, self-professed Atheist Christian, or Messianic Jew) so I decided on a relatively simple, and admittedly flawed, definition: one who has participated in the rite of baptism, professes and accepts Christ as her personal Savior, and has not since recanted her faith. (I chose baptism because this seems to me a fundamental initiation that most Christians seem to undergo, and as far as I know, isn’t a rite widely practiced outside of Christendom. Also, the rite of baptism is itself especially meaningful as an intitiatory engagement, which I will write about futher in another paper.)

Baptism, as the fundamental initiatory rite of Christianity, confirms upon its participants a special privilege: it welcomes the participant into the mystical body of Christ, the eternal Church.¹ Moreover, baptism is considered a participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, and as such, marks the participant as part of the Christ — she herself is anointed; she herself is set apart. This is a sacred transition, and the initiation leaves an indelible imprint on the Christian’s soul. As one set apart, she is no longer able to merely shirk her responsibilities to represent and participate in the body of the Church. The Christian is responsible for representing, in all aspects of her life, the glory of Christ. As one writer proclaims, “[O]ne’s inner character and outward behavior should be reflective of the ethical implications of the gospel itself.”²

The obligations of the born-again Christian are binding and extensive. Participating in the death of Christ means self-sacrifice; it means giving over one’s utter autonomy in order to serve the body of Christ. Christ himself said, “If any man come after me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me.” (Luke 9:20) This is no idle request; this is an absolute requirement. The body is not a machine; it is an organism, and as such, all parts exist not merely for each other but by means of each other. Each part is required for the whole to function. Each member of the body of Christ must take her responsibility to heart and act accordingly, otherwise the whole body of Chris is rendered impotent. For all practical purposes, the Church is nothing if not the Christians it comprises. Without the active faith, the outward demonstration of deeply held values, the Church is impotent.

This denial of self is important. It implies that the Christian relinquishes something of herself in order to uphold a higher ideal—the imitation of Christ. And what does it mean in this day and age to “follow Christ” if not to live by the example of his life? The concept of imitatio Christi is perhaps as old as codified Christianity itself. But how does on attempt to imitate the Christ?

Working Towards Worthiness

I attended a Methodist sermon once where the pastor advised the congregation, “None of us is capable of earning God’s love. We’re not required to; God’s love is freely given to us by grace. However, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be constantly striving to be worthy of God’s love.”

Of all the sermons I’ve attended in my lifetime, that was probably one of the most poignant. God’s love will not be denied; it will not be withheld. Nor can anything we do encourage God to love us any better. God’s love for us is already absolute, already complete. This love is perhaps the very foundation of creation. But though we may take God’s love for granted, we should attempt to live a life that is pleasing to God. We should try and make ourselves reflections of the love God so freely bestows upon us. God’s love is great and eternal, and though we are limited, flawed creatures, we should strive toward the divine’s glory and light.

The most obvious way to attempt to do this is to follow Christ’s commandment to love our neighbors. This idea of love is sometimes confusing. Are we asked to be emotionally bound to strangers the way we are emotionally involved with our friends and family? Are we asked to harbor some sort of permanent sentiment for those we do not know when even the strongest love for a close friend may prove ephemeral?

I posed these questions to an Episcopal pastor who informed me that love as Christ speaks of it in this context is not to be considered an emotion, but an obligation. Love isn’t something that we feel so much as something we do. Christ doesn’t ask his followers to merely harbor tender affections towards his neighbor. Christ asks his followers to reach out toward his neighbor, to draw him into his own awareness. Perhaps C.S. Lewis defined this love best as “charity”.³ It isn’t possible to love our neighbors if we mock them or belittle them or otherwise act in hurtful and unbecoming ways toward them. The standard of behavior required of the Christian following Christ’s word is clearly defined. We don’t have to like our neighbor to love him. We don’t have to cultivate tender thoughts toward him (though that helps). The only requirement is to behave toward him in a way that draws him toward God. The Christian’s charitable behavior toward her neighbor is a wordless invitation to experience the love and grace of God. It needs no pomp or circumstance, and therefore is the most profound imitation of Christ.

Meditations of the Heart

As a child attending the Presbyterian church, I became accustomed to praying the following: “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14) Although this prayer doesn’t speak directly of actions, most actions should be preceded by thought and consideration. For the Christian, outward behavior should be a manifestation of the heart’s meditation—an active translation of internal process. If we strive to please God in our thoughts and contemplations, and if behavior is considered and thoughtful, then our behavior should please God. In fact, ideally, Christian behavior would not only please God, but be a testament to God’s grace.

All these things aside, however, I do not wish to suggest that any one person’s behavior should be publicly scrutinized and compared moment by moment against the standard I have illustrated here. Regardless of how the perfect Christian might be expected to behave, no one is truly perfect. No person can always fulfill the obligations here outlined. What is expected, however, is the constant struggle to improve. Christianity, as an evangelical faith, actively seeks to bring people to the Church. The best advertisement for the Church are those Christians who seek to comport themselves in becoming ways, and who humbly seek to do better. Those who allow the influence of Christ to shine through them do Christendom the most good, touching the lives of those around them in quiet though often meaningful ways. No one expects Christians to behave perfectly all the time, but it is not unreasonable to expect the Christian to strive constantly toward living a life that exemplifies the teachings of Christ.

Endnotes

1. Catholic Encyclopedia While I recognize that this particular teaching may not be prevelant in protestant denominations, I think it a very powerful image and a powerful interpretation of the rite of baptism. I do believe it lends itself well to upholding the legitimacy of the expectation of proper Christian conduct’ nonetheless, even if the reader rejects this particular idea, I hope there is enough in the remainder of the article to be worth consideration.

2. www.founders.org/ss/092803.htm

3. Lewis, C.S. The Four Loves

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