Jesus' radical model of true greatness

My dad told stories of growing up with his older sister, my Aunt Barbara. Apparently, the two of them loved to play checkers. Dad knew the rules to checkers, but there was a variety of checkers that Barbara played. She had a special move called “Split Check.” Split Check allowed her to split her one checker piece into two which would always ultimately lead her to win the game. She’d get backed into a corner and then call out “Split Check” and boom! A new piece was on the board. There was no rhyme or reason for when one could play Split Check, but when dad tried to play Split Check, she very quickly explained that he was doing it wrong. As big sisters often do, she had him good. Split Check was the ultimate, all-powerful move. There was no defense against Split check and no way you could stop it. If your opponent played Split Check, your game was over.

For centuries, people have done something similar with the term “Christian.” People groups have been oppressed and mistreated because someone said it was the “Christian” thing to do. People have taken advantage of others financially in the name of being “Christian.” There have even been multiple mass genocides throughout history that have been justified by people claiming they were carrying out their “Christian” calling. “Christian” as a term is the ultimate, all-powerful move. Those who wield it know that it encompasses one’s identity, one’s soul, and even one’s eternal destination. It’s life’s Split Check. But it’s not just a boardgame victory that’s at stake; the consequences of using “Christian” can be significant and severe.

I recently saw something online that said, “I can’t believe I grew up thinking using God’s name in vain was saying ‘oh my God’ and not using God to manipulate people and advance your own personal agenda…” Yikes. Reading that should make us all second guess whether or not we’re guilty of using God to advance our own agenda. If it doesn’t convict you to examine your motives, then I would say it’s likely that your motives should be questioned.
I’m not saying that we don’t receive God’s power or can’t be called by God to carry out important missions. But if we use God’s power to benefit us personally while others are harmed in the process, it may be that the power we’re yielding never came from God in the first place. We must cautiously and carefully consider our motives and our actions when claiming that something is “Christian” so that we only use it when it’s done in such a way that would be approved by Christ himself. There’s too much at stake to get that wrong.