Why Does the Behavior of Christians Often Not Reflect Their Savior, Jesus Christ?

This is not an easy question to answer, but in my personal experience, I think we can put it down to the fact that not all those who call themselves followers of Jesus are really “saved”, and those who are “saved” are possibly amongst the most broken of people, who in time, will be healed by their Master and Healer Jesus Christ. But for now, they are still too broken to be a proper example of Jesus Christ.

I was “saved” and a Christian for a relatively short period of time before I was employed by a Christian woman. I was so excited to have a Christian as my boss! And even more so since her pastor was in and out of the offices on a regular basis. One would assume she was particularly close to God if she had such a close relationship with her pastor, but alas...

I wasn’t working there long before my Christian boss wanted me fired. To this day, I still cannot properly understand why that was. I know I was outspoken about fair treatment for all, so she may have started taking a dislike of me when I began questioning why the staff were paid too little to reimburse their petrol costs, or why she felt it necessary I keep my pager on during church services…but her hateful behavior towards a fellow sister in Christ was a shock, and the first time I experienced poor treatment by someone who should have been showing the love of Jesus towards a young girl still fairly new in her faith.

Since then, I have encountered bad behavior from Christians to many other people, and it is perplexing. (Having said that, I can’t consider myself blameless in this area either; I know I have at times been a poor example to others).

After pondering why so many of the people of God do not act even remotely like Him, I can only conclude that when I have been a bad example to others, it has been because I wanted to fulfill my own selfish desires, and momentarily forgot about laying down my own life so that Jesus can rule - and shine - inside me.

It was Jesus Who said: “…just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Jesus also said that we would know that people are His when we can see their fruits, which are love, peace, patience, gentleness, joy, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. If a person calls himself a Christian but does not show these fruits, he is either a very young person in Christ, or may not have given his heart to Jesus fully, or does not spend time in the presence of his Savior.

Let’s face it. Christians are just human. In our lives as Christians, we have been broken and hurt. And broken and hurt people easily hurt others. When we come to Jesus, the healing doesn’t always happen overnight. If we did drugs when we were non-believers, we may still have cravings for drugs when we get saved. I smoked and swore for 2 years after I got saved. So for me personally, healing was a process.

It amazes me that the Lord does not stop the hurt and pain that His children inflict on others, and He doesn’t reject those of His kids who hurt others. Instead, true to form, He uses all things for the good of those who love Him, and He uses the hurt inflicted on others to try to draw them closer to Him too. He could so easily swoop down and stop people hurting other people so that His reputation stayed intact, but He doesn’t, because that wouldn’t benefit anyone.

We can’t change ourselves. Only He can provide the healing we need in our lives. How? Our responsibility is to spend time with Him so that He can work in our hearts. We need to spend time being quiet, so that we can learn to hear His voice. We need to read His word, so that He can teach us what He requires of us.

At the top of a Christian’s mind, before we do anything, we have to ask “what would Jesus do?” I found this to be very helpful as a guide. We have to remember that oftentimes, Jesus in us is the only way some people will ever meet Him. Are you showing Jesus to a lost and dark world, or are you following after your own desires?

To anyone reading this who has had a bad experience with a Christian, I humbly apologize on behalf of Jesus Christ.

Help us Lord, to be like You.