1. Somewhere in your house you have a 5 x 5 plaque, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” hung for all to see.
2. You only tithe or give when the Pastor gives his tithing and/or offering speech.
3. You read your Word mostly when things are not going your way.
4. You say phrases like “Read your Word”, “Joy of the Lord”, “How is your Walk going?” etc.
5. You try to drop hot Christian words like “Blessed” or “Prayer” when talking to strangers to test whether or not they are Christians too.
6. You do the Christian side hug. (Thank you Jon Acuff for this one)
7. Your automatic reaction to anyone’s misfortune is “I’ll be praying for you,” when you know, and they know, you won’t pray one word.
8. You make a point to cheerfully smile at strangers or other Christians to make sure they know you have the “Joy of the Lord” upon you.
9. When in doubt, you choose Republican.
10. Most of your friends are Cultural Christians, too.
What is a Cultural Christian?
I got to thinking about being a cultural Christian just last week as I was talking to a stranger who told me they were a cultural Catholic. “What does that mean?” I thought to myself. And then I began thinking about all the ways that I, too, have become more of a cultural Christian as well: someone who follows the traditions and quirks of Christianity as a substitute for the real relationship.
Sometimes I know that I lack the power of God in my life when I am not changing or allowing myself to be transformed or made new everyday, and instead I just keep doing the same old “Christian” things hoping that it will somehow change me or my situation. When saying “I’ll pray for you” becomes more important than actually doing it. When the show of Christianity becomes more important than the real work going on backstage.
It’s all the trappings of Christianity without the power or life of God breathed into it. To me that’s what really being a Cultural Christian is about. The power of God is His ability to create something from nothing or to take evil and turn it too good or to raise something that was dead and make it new. Certain areas of my life lack that power most times. And I can’t make up for it with my Christian T-shirt that says “Prays Well With Others.”.
