Proud to Be a Christian

I came across a challenging portion of Scripture earlier today that can really stress to us the importance of developing Godly character, reflecting the person of Christ in us.  It's from Philippians 2:
19But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.20For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.21For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.22But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.

Did the apostle Paul have high standards or what?  He said in verse 21 that "all seek their own," except for Timothy, who possessed "proven character."  That is certainly raising the bar, and should be motivational for us as we seek to glorify God in our words and actions.  I think that we should want to display that proven character, molded by Christ, who does His work of transformation in our hearts.  We are instructed to seek Christ, not our own agendas.  If we are doing that and walking in a triumphant manner over the temptations and distractions of this world, He will express His very life through us.

The presence of Christ in us will enable us to develop Godly character, which will be displayed in our lives as we submit to Him in obedience.  Here's what 2nd Peter chapter 1 says:
5But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,6to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,7to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.8For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They play at a stadium nicknamed "Death Valley," but the head football coach is a proponent of eternal life - in Jesus Christ.   His name is Dabo Swinney of Clemson and he has become the target of the ink-heavy and litigation-light atheist group known as the Freedom from Religion Foundation.   According to Baylor professor Dr. Thomas Kidd, a Clemson graduate, Swinney...

...is an outspoken Christian, who is accused of employing a chaplain, sharing Scripture with his players, and inviting players to church. This pattern of behavior, the FFRF contends, is inappropriate for a public university employee, and violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause.

That is excerpted from his Anxious Bench blog at Patheos.com.  Kidd goes on to say:

We might laugh off the FFRF’s threats as typical secularist hi-jinks, except that threatening lawsuits has become the most successful approach for secularists over the past fifty years, and it has scored incremental victories to restrict religious speech and the free exercise of religion. In the absence of legislative or popular support for their agenda, they intimidate public employees into silence, and occasionally find sympathetic judges to agree with their peculiar interpretation of the First Amendment.

He said that the FFRF is accusing Clemson of exhibiting an institutional preference for “religion over nonreligion.” He related that he had professors at the school who were overtly hostile to faith perspectives and two who spoke directly of their faith as Christians. Here's what he says:

No problem – at a university, it is ok to have different perspectives represented. I don’t recall that the FFRF has ever sued a university, Clemson or others, for preferencing nonreligion over religion because of the views of a secularist professor…and it never occurred to me to seek a lawsuit because of the times when I did not share the opinion of such secularist professors.

He does point out that, "Sports teams are, of course, very different settings from a university classroom. Any coach worth his or her salt is not only trying to win games, but to invest in the lives of players. For people of faith, such investments naturally mean directing players to one’s own faith. As a matter of propriety, Clemson officials should expect that Coach Swinney not be rude or discriminatory toward his players, but this is a requirement that should apply on a whole range of issues (politics, ethnicity, etc.), not just faith. Fairness makes for good education, business, and manners."   Kidd concludes that Swinney is on sound constitutional ground.

Coach Swinney has now spoken out on the situation, which he said took him "a little off guard," according to ESPN.com, which reported comments made by the coach at the ACC teleconference yesterday.  He is quoted as saying that, "Anything that we have in our program from a spiritual standpoint is and always has been voluntary. We're no different than any other program out there in how we operate as far as providing our players opportunities to grow in any aspect of their lives."   Swinney did not comment on the specifics of the complaint.

"I have coached and recruited just about every faith and religion that's out there, or non-religion, and have never had a problem with any of it before," Swinney said. "I am who I am. I'm proud to be a Christian, and by being a Christian, I'm a Christian in everything that I do. People that know me, they know I'm a long way from being perfect. You can ask my players or my wife -- I'm a long way from being perfect, but I do try to live my life with a positive influence on those around me.

"I've never been a guy who's forced anything on anyone. I just am who I am, and I'm proud of how we run our program. The reason I've had success as a coach is because I love my players, and I take great pride in having relationships with my players."

Earlier this month, university spokeswoman Cathy Sams issued a statement saying the school would evaluate the complaints raised but that it believes Swinney and his staff are not violating any laws.

I hope that Clemson does not capitulate here.   That seems to be the countertactic to the secularist heavy-handedness that FFRF engages in - just stand up, say there's nothing to see here, and tell them to move on. They've come after banners before football games, pregame prayers, displays of faith in school hallways, and even tried to sue the National Day of Prayer.   And, apparently, Swinney is not backing down, and Dabo said these wonderful words I want to seize on: "I am who I am. I'm proud to be a Christian, and by being a Christian, I'm a Christian in everything that I do."

So, when the pressure hits, when people challenge our actions, do we back down or try to nuance the message, or are we forthright in declaring our faith?   The Bible teaches clearly that we are to carry our faith into every area of life.  We don't compartmentalize the sacred and the secular; rather we allow the presence of Christ to infiltrate every area of our lives.   Our decisions are to be controlled by the Word of God and the direction of the Holy Spirit.   

As Dabo says, "I'm a Christian in everything I do."   Because there are people and organizations who are hostile to the expression of the Christian faith, expectations are placed on us to somehow separate that personal faith from personal activity.   That is wrong.  Personal faith, if it is being lived our correctly, will produce personal character that is consistent with the nature of Jesus Christ in us.  The challenge is to make sure that our lives are lining up with who we say we are.   Being a Christian is more than just trying hard to be good, it's allowing the goodness of God to work through us to produce His fruit through us.