I betrayed You.

Two subjects in this note: the word Christian and betraying God living in American Materialistic life.

The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Now look at the word Christian. A meaning of 'little Christ'. It feels wrong for me to say."Yes, I am a Christian" if someone asks me if I am one. I am a follower of Christ. But knowing the word Christian means 'little Christ' and looking at my life I don't think it would be right for me to self proclaim myself as a Little Christ. In Antioch the followers of Christ were preaching and teaching there for a whole year when the gentiles came to them calling them Christians. They could see the transformation in the disciples lives. They could see Christ in their lives. REALLY see Him in their lives. If someone has to ask me if I'm a Christian then I am clearly not doing my task of showing Christ off in myself. He is supposed to be the spotlight not myself. This life isn't about me it is about Him. Only Him. I feel like I betray God by living here in America with all this materialism and worldliness that I am FORCED to live in. Yet it still feels like betrayal. It is betrayal. I say I follow Christ but I let Americas standards keep me down from living for him. When the Bible says "Whether you eat or drink do all things to the glory of God" and when Christ demands us to "Go out and make disciples of all the nations" I don't think its possible to do either or both in America to its full extent of the way Christ wants us to live it to. It really isn't. I mean you can say it is but then you go watch TV or hang out on the internet doing whatever you do. Sorry but I don't see how that glorifies God at all.

Christ didn't say if you wanted to follow Him you could do it lukewarmly. He said "Take up your cross and follow me" He spoke in parables so that those who truly weren't interested in following Him would not be able to be fake. He said this: luke 14:31-35

31. "Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and take counsel whether he is strong enough with ten thousand [men] to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32. "Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks terms of peace. 33. "So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. 34. "Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? 35. "It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

We try and give Him less than He deserves and less than He demands of us. This isn't right. He says that you have to give up all your possessions and follow Him. He says that, like tasteless salt, lukewarm people are useless. When salt is still salty it helps manure fertilize. But lukewarm and uncommitted faith is useless. It can't even benefit manure.

The term Lukewarm Christian really is an oxymoron. If anyone calls himself a believer and doesn't obey Christ commands the Truth is not in him.