Being a Christian has its ups and downs. We’re bound to make mistakes and mess up at some point. Some of us struggle with sins that others don’t find difficult to avoid. For example, some struggle with pornography while others have successfully fled from temptation each and every time. Some struggle with drugs while others have never been tempted to try them. But today I’ve compiled a list of the 5 pitfalls I’ve seen a lot of Christians deal with (including myself).
1. Taking verses out of context
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard/seen a verse taken out of context to either justify something or make a person feel good. For example, “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved:” (Psalm 46:5) is a verse used as an empowering quote for women, but if you read the whole passage, you’ll see it’s actually about Israel. While I do believe God is in us and empowers us, I also think we should be careful about taking His words out of context.
2. “I’m not a regular Christian, I’m a cool Christian.”
This is one I’ve been guilty of for sure. Christians get a bad rap for being hateful, bigoted, and hypocritical, so it’s easy to try to combat that and prove how cool you are. The problem is that that attitude often leads us to compromise on what the Bible teaches and try to water it down so we don’t offend anyone. But compromising God’s truth is never the answer.
3. Using grace as an excuse to live freely without thought of consequences/God’s law
Here’s the thing: God forgives sin. The Bible says He even throws our sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). But that’s not a get out of jail free card. We still face the consequences for our actions, and God still has guidelines for how we’re to live. The lie that you can live however you want is Satan’s attempt to cheapen Christ’s sacrifice. The Bible says to put on the new man (Ephesians 4:24), but if we keep living like the world, people will wonder why they should get saved if they can live the same without salvation.
4. “The times have changed so Christianity much change.”
No. Just a big fat no. Jesus Christ is the same today as He was 2,000 years ago (Hebrews 13:8). And if Jesus is the same, His doctrine is the same. This statement is usually made regarding premarital sex, but no matter what you refer to, God’s law doesn’t change with the world. We change with God’s law.
5. “You’ll find a spouse when you focus on God.”
As a single woman I’ve heard this a lot, whether I bring up my relationship status or not. The reason I hate this statement is that it insinuates married couples are somehow spiritually superior when they struggle just as much as us single folk. Plus, God doesn’t mean for everyone to get married (Matt. 19:12). In some ways we idolize marriage as something to strive for when instead we should strive to follow God’s will, and if that involves marriage in the future, great; if it doesn’t, great. Thinking you have to achieve some spiritual benchmark to have a spouse is just going to frustrate us and give Satan a foothold (and he really doesn’t need help finding those) and is going to cause us to get caught in the comparison trap. No one wins in the comparison trap.
So what do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Can you think of any other pitfalls Christians have to be careful of?
