At a Minimum

I’ve spent a lot of time over the years thinking about what makes a follower of Jesus different from everyone else.  In the early days of Christianity, when most people worshiped pagan gods in a local temple, it was pretty easy to suss out who the Christians were.  They were the ones NOT going into pagan temples.  These days, church attendance isn’t always so obvious.  We’ve resorted to things like putting bumper stickers on our cars or wearing t-shirts that make it clear: I am a Christian.  But if these external symbols weren’t available, what would be the evidence from my life that would make my faith clear?

There is one thing that should identify us as followers of Jesus from the start: kindness.  Not only is it one of the fruit of the Spirit, it is basic to being a Christian.  And a lack of kindness can very quickly destroy our Christian witness.  At a minimum, we should be holding doors, wishing people a good day, tipping servers well, smiling, helping, and keeping an open posture to people.  If kindness is not a part of our lives, nothing else we do to identify ourselves with Jesus will have much value.  Kindness is our baseline.  It’s the bare minimum.