1. INTRODUCTION
This particular article explains how us Christians ARE expected to ‘behave’ – within our own lives – towards our fellow human beings.
Please also note that this website’s main objective is to assist readers to build sound Christian faith and apply it to their lives. Engaging with God in that way, allows him to demonstrate his actual presence there. In effect proving he is real; that he does exist AND also loves each one of us.
BUT, if all this seems a bit too much for you … say if you are even struggling with the possible existence of God … please also try reading the article, “How to believe in God?”. AND trust me on this one: IF you are ready to believe, THEN you can! The article, “What does faith offer us?” explains what we get in return for that faith-based relationship with God.
(I am from a senior auditing background and the majority of my advisory team are Christian clergy. To glimpse the ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ of this website please click here.)
2. JESUS’ RULES FOR US
The previous article, “Christianity explained simply” highlights the religion’s relationship to “love”. Indeed Jesus provided us with two commandments, based on love. The first was, “LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind.” Then continuing, Jesus added, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” [Luke 10:27]
And with regards to our fellow human beings (i.e. “our neighbours”), we ARE obviously expected to care as much about them as we do about ourselves. That is, we should place other people’s needs on an ‘equal pegging’ with our own. And yes, it was explained “oh so simply” by Jesus in this well known verse:
So in everything, do to others what you
would have them do to you,
for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
[Matthew 7:12]
We get the message, loud and clear! On both counts – love God AND love our fellow human beings. Love, then, should be a major ‘influencer’ in our day-to-day behaviour as Christians. And positive ‘spin-offs’ will include improvements to our own general attitude towards life itself.
3. BEING HONEST AND SINCERE
Yes, God expects us to try our best to be honest and sincere. But, many people in modern society have truly moved away from this basic behaviour expected by God.
We should always try to do ‘what is right‘ in all our dealings with other people: be honest; control our greed; give what we owe to others etc.
God’s guidance on these relationships is clearly laid out in the Bible. The article, “Rules, laws and commandments” includes relevant advice.
4. CARING ABOUT OTHERS
Our general behaviour towards our fellow humans SHOULD obviously flow from Jesus’ second commandment. We must, for example, be ready to assist any human being who we consider needs our caring help. You know the old saying, “It costs nothing to be kind”. And in fact, our kindness can bring about great change for individuals AND the world as a whole.
We should freely ‘give’ to others, especially those who obviously need help and support. That means financially, emotionally and/or physically of course. This relates to all forms of human relationships ranging from family, friends, fellow workers, customers and all the way to perfect strangers.
BUT, sadly, our Christian principle of deeply caring for, and helping, others in need CAN be in direct conflict with the negative ‘impression’ that so many people DO have with Christianity. Of course that outlook flows from the ongoing bad behaviour of Christianity’s bigots, its history of holy wars, sexual abuse of children within the Church etc. These issues all rest so badly with our religion of love, and should NEVER be forgotten by us committed Christians!
Unfortunately many people in the community just plain forget to balance Christianity’s past and present ‘good works’ AGAINST those misdeeds.
Just as God himself came to serve his beloved children through self sacrifice, in the ‘person of Jesus‘, so we Christians are called to serve our fellow humans. And committed Christians DO always seem to be ‘in the thick of it’, trying to help where there is pain, suffering and abuse of others throughout the world as a whole.
It is their commitment to faith, and recognition of the commandment to love one another, that drives these people on. And at times they may even put their own lives at risk. Simply put, it is what Jesus would have done.
5. FORGIVE AND NOT JUDGE OTHERS
So yes, Christianity SHOULD be a religion where its followers judge no one [Matthew 7:1-6, James 4:12]. I offer the example when Jesus was asked whether an adulterous woman should be stoned to death as punishment [John 8:1-11]. What was Jesus’ response? It was perfect, “Let whoever has not sinned, throw the first stone!” Shamed by the answer, the small crowd drifted away leaving Jesus and the woman alone together. Jesus compassionately requested only that the woman ‘change her ways’.
And as Christians, we should have NO reason, to think for a moment, that we are more important or superior to ANY person we come across in everyday life. Yes, we should be ready to accept any person, who ‘fronts us’ during our day, as our equal. A gentle smile, a small wave of a hand, or little nod of our head, to someone ‘doing it tough’ can for example positively transform their day. It would also apply to someone who acts in an arrogant or rude way towards us. No, it’s not right to ‘jack up’ towards such a person!
As inferred later in this article, be ‘humble’ to anyone and everyone.
No, Christianity is about recognising the failings in our OWN lives, firstly trying to do something about that! We should NOT be fussing too much about the wrongs in the lives of others. However, we may still NEED to give loving/ caring advice to others about changing from bad habits in life to what is in effect best for them and others who rely on them [2 Timothy 2:24-26]. More is written on that subject later in this article.
Again, this is not to say we must accept ALL wrong committed by others. The laws of our society should be served for instance. And Christians are expected to stand up for the ‘downtrodden’. We should also make a non-violent stand against those who would threaten the lives and souls of our fellow human beings.
Finally, let’s have a look at one of Jesus’ key statements, in the Bible, on the subject of forgiveness. Of course it relates to forgiving our fellow human beings when they do wrong towards us. Jesus made the following plea to God the Father, just after being nailed to the cross and hoisted up into a vertical position to slowly die there.
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
[Luke 23:34]
6. CHRISTIAN ATTITUDES
And God in the ‘person of Jesus’ would absolutely object to the ‘holier than thou’ attitude held by so many Christians over the centuries. ‘Chest pumping’ and all that! The following verses from both the Bible’s Old Testament and New Testament can in fact offer us sound advice on ‘attitude’ and ‘lifestyle’; how we should present ourselves to others.
The prophet Micah offered this guidance 700 years before Jesus’ birth:
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
[Micah 6:8]
What did the human Jesus actually have to say about human behaviour? Nothing better explains positive ‘Christian attitudes’ than the following verses provided to us by him, referred to as “The Beatitudes”.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are
persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[Matthew 5:3-10]
It explains HOW to shape our character, emphasizing humility and purity, for the good of all. God’s blessings for that type of behaviour, in this life AND the next, are made clear too.
Yes, it’s no surprise that it came out of the mouth of Jesus!
7. ADVICE WITHIN EARLY CHURCH LETTERS
Finally, let’s look at some of the ‘love-based’ guidance offered on Christian behaviour in the later pages of the Bible. The following quotations are from ‘letters’ (also known as “epistles”) contained in those later pages. These letters were written well after Jesus’ death. That is about the time that the Christian Church was beginning to shape up, in readiness to spread out through the civilising world!
The letters, forwarded by their writers at that time, offered advice to people practising in the growing Christian Church. That is as it rolled out, as examples, through areas known today as Italy, Greece and Turkey (Republic of Türkiye). The letters selected in this subsection relate to ‘how Christians should behave lovingly towards other people, especially other Christians’. Take your time reading them. I personally accept them as the ‘real deal’.
(And I offer a big thanks to Usha Borde, a voluntary adviser, who helped me research this stuff.)
In what follows, please note that I firstly offer ‘brief meanings’ of the Bible verses that follow, and then I quote the actual verses themselves. Let’s have a look then at some examples of advice on Christian behaviour, that were included in those early letters:
1) Rather than abuse their God-given freedom, the Lord’s followers must serve one another lovingly:
You my brothers, were called to be free.
But do not use your freedom
to indulge the sinful nature;
rather serve one another in love.
[Galations 5:13] Written by St Paul the apostle.
2) Faithful Christians should not get involved in arguments about sinful behaviour of other people, but rather should gently and kindly instruct them:
And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel:
instead, he must be kind to everyone,
able to teach, not resentful.
Those who oppose him he must gently instruct,
in the hope that God will grant them repentance
leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
and that they will come to their senses
and escape from the trap of the devil,
who has taken them hostage to do his will.
[2 Timothy 2:24-26] Written by St Paul the apostle.
3) Faithful Christians should be peaceful, loving, forgiving, considerate and open-minded towards other church members:
Bear with each other and forgive whatever
grievances you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body
you were called to peace.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
as you admonish one another with all wisdom,
as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
[Collossians 3:13-16] Written by St Paul the apostle.
4) Faithful Christians will, by deeply applying their faith, come to love one another with a pure heart:
Now that you have purified yourselves
by obeying the truth so that you
have sincere love for your brothers,
love one another deeply, from the heart.
[1Peter 1:22] Probably written by St Peter, a disciple of Jesus.
5) Faithful Christians must encourage one another to offer love and good works to others:
And let us consider how we may
spur one another on toward
love and good deeds.
[Hebrews 10:24] The actual name of the writer of this letter to the Hebrews church is unclear.
6) We church-going Christians should encourage and support each other. And be ready to accept advice from our church leaders on how to improve our own behaviour. And if anyone does do wrong to us, we should not punish them in return. We must simply always be kind and helpful to everyone:
Therefore, encourage one another and
build each other up,
just as in fact you are doing.
Now we ask you, brothers,
to respect those who
work hard among you,
who are over you in the Lord
and who admonish you.
Hold them in the highest regard in love
because of their work.
Live in peace with each other.
And we urge you, brothers,
warn those who are idle,
encourage the timid,
help the weak,
be patient with everyone.
Make sure that nobody pays back
wrong for wrong,
but always try to be kind to each other
and to everyone else.
[1Thessalonians 5:11-15] Written by St Paul the apostle.
7) Faithful Christians must be humble and gentle with each other. They should deliberately allow the Holy Spirit’s presence in themselves to support peaceful fellowships:
Be completely humble and gentle;
be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep the unity
of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
[Ephesians 4:2,3] Written by St Paul the apostle.