I Want to Know Your Story, Just Not Like This
Photo credit: flickr/mojoey
As Christians we started with the fish. Something simple. Something intended to let people know that we were, indeed, Christians. No words were necessary, it was as simple as carrying a Bible around. We just wanted people to know.
Then it grew. The popularity of catchy bumper stickers became extreme.
The Bible bookstores were full of them. “In case of a Rapture, This Car will be Unmanned;” “Fired up for Jesus;” “Got Jesus?” - seemingly harmless pieces of “flare” (for lack of a better term) were plastered all over the vehicles of Christians just trying to spread the word. It was almost as if we were relying on our vehicles to do the witnessing for us.
We were labeled as “extreme Jesus freaks” and no one wanted to come within 20 feet of us for fear of getting stuck in an hour long witness fest. But the message was pretty simple and straight forward and it appeared we were still being kind.
However we have stopped being kind and I am worried that the damage is going to be severe. The stickers I see lately are scathing. They hurt, and quite frankly they make me embarrassed to be a Christian.
In under 20 words we cut someone’s heart out merely by placing a sticker on the back of our car and we wonder why the number of people that claim to believe in God seems to get lower by the year.
We waded into the “tough love” waters gradually. “Know Jesus Know Peace; No Jesus, No Peace.” I guess I can see the truth and respect the sentiment in the sticker, however, would you not rather sit down with a troubled soul, talk, cry, and when the moment is right let them know of a peace that will calm their heart? Let them know in a loving setting of a Lord who will help shoulder their burden? I know I would.
“God Loves You*  *Some restrictions apply.” WHAT? Some restrictions apply?!?! Wow. I feel hurt by that even though I know of God’s unconditional love.
How about “Live it up, Sinner”?! It makes me feel sick just to type it. Apparently the “sinner” that puts this sticker on his or her car feels superior to the “sinner” who will be reading it.  I’m pretty sure that condemnation is not a “fruit” they will know us by.
Or maybe it is. Unfortunately it seems to becoming the trend.
Lately it appears we are just becoming downright mean. “Abortion is Murder” is one of the most popular stickers I see on the backs of Christians cars. Murder. We feel completely justified telling the poor teenage girl who was raped and became pregnant that the choice that brutalizes her every thought was straight up murder. And even though I understand that abortion is indeed ending a life, which is technically murder; to that girl, I’d want to impart a different message to her. How about “God Understands You” or maybe, “God’s Grace is for Everyone.” Or perhaps I’d like to do away with the sticker all together and just hug her.
I appreciate the sentiment of bumper stickers. I understand the reasoning behind using something that you own to spread your beliefs. It just appears to me that we have turned something as seemingly harmless as a bumper sticker into a moving billboard of judgement and I don’t believe that is the witness that God would want for us to be.
When Jesus walked this earth, His whole ministry was about personal relationships. He didn’t carry around a stone tablet with words of judgment and condemnation on it and wave it around at the crowd. No, he loved on people. He shared the word and connected with people on a much more intimate level. Each person’s story and situation was different and he treated them accordingly.
So, as Christians, I believe we have to stop making blanket statements. Stop allowing 20 words on a sticker to tell people who we are (or worse- who we think they are). Let’s stop condemning and causing hurt and start showing God’s love. Because I want to know everything there is to know about you, and this isn’t the way.
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 12:17 am
Tiffany, this was some great commentary on the silly reductionistic culture wars of popular Christianity. Every story is so much more complex than a slogan… great post!
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 11:25 am
Thanks Kurt.
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 5:53 am
Excellent commentary
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 8:47 am
Great post. I have never put a fish or anything similar on my car because I am too scared. What happens if I cut someone off? Are they going to be scarred for life re Christianity?
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 11:29 am
Tim I feel the same way. I don’t want to put a label of who I am on my vehicle because I make mistakes. I don’t want people to see my label and then see my mistake and then run far away from anything to do with Christianity. I’d much rather just try to live my life the best I can in hopes that people will notice something different about me and strike up conversaton.
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 9:13 am
Great post! I feel the same way about religious tracts on Halloween. I understand people are trying to get the word out but sneaking it in your house via your kid’s candy bag is not the way to do it. But then again, we all fall short right?
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 11:36 am
We do all fall short, and I, too, can appreciate the thought and the sentiment. I just think that so many more things are accomplished by conversation and relationship.
I feel like very few people are saved via a random cartoon tract shoved in a Halloween candy bag, or left for a waitress as her tip. But, I guess it just takes one, right?
To me, though, it comes across as a Christian cop out. I’ll shove a piece of paper in a bag and that will be my witness. I wont develop a relationship with you though – nope, that could get way too messy – just read the tract and get saved.
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 10:25 am
Great post Tiffany. You are right on target with the negative feelings some of those “Christian” bumper stickers relay. Personally, they do make me angry when I read something very judgmental that claims to have Christianity at the center of it. I don’t recall the Bible stating, “Hey Christians, go out there and make people feel bad and shame them into loving me in a superficial way so you can feel smugly superior!” I don’t think so.
Frankly, the best Christians I know are kind, humble good people that lead by their example. Yes, it’s a subtle approach, but an effective one. Ironically, the best atheists I know are the same way. A truly beautiful woman doesn’t need to tell people she’s beautiful, she just is. Bill Gates doesn’t
have to show off hin wealth or intelligence, his work, company and philanthropy speaks for itself. Why can’t people be confident enough in their religious faith and the example they set? Do they really need a condescending bumpersticker to drive the point home?
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 11:39 am
Kris your comment is SUCH truth. If you are really living a lifestyle you believe to be worth emulating you don’t have to plaster your vehicle with a bunch of condescending and hurt ful literature.
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 10:31 am
Wow, this is a great response! Thank you for sharing. I sort of wish I could print this off and tape it to those type of bumper stickers, when the cars are parked.
I don’t know, maybe that sounds judgmental too, but I don’t mean it to – I just often wish that I could talk to someone who puts a slogan out like that, and explain (in more than just 8 words!) why a lot of people find those messages very hurtful. Not necessarily they’re some kind of ‘enemy’, but because, just like you said, human beings’ stories and attempts to reach out to God are often much, much deeper and more complicated than a slogan. I’m so glad to have read this, because you articulate it much better than I was previously able to. Thank you. <3
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 11:48 am
Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts Emma. I completely agree with your comment.
I just wish that, as you said, Christians were a little more willing to get deeper and more complicated – even a little messy with those who need it. It seems that most would rather slap on a sticker and hope for a revival.
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 10:53 am
In a way, I feel it undermines the Gospel when we think we can distill all of it on a flippant bumper sticker. Why not use that space for something truly thought-provoking that will encourage the person to inquire rather than something that will offend and distance.
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 11:49 am
I so completely agree with this Pat. So true.
Thank you for your comment.
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 12:33 pm
you are spot on. unfortunately (like most silly, negative, hateful things that we do as christians) there is a momentum that is impossible to stop. i have noticed that as much as i speak and/or write against this kind of stuff…it just continues to perpetuate. many times it makes me want to raise my arms and give up. i suppose that when we speak out against this stuff….seeds are sown in the lives of some and then hopefully it takes root…but sometimes it is hard to find evidence that these trends are actually going the opposite direction. thanks for the post. peace… brandon
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 11:55 am
Brandon I feel the same way. I honestly wrote this post expecting nothing but angry comments from people who felt that I was a bad Christian for feeling the way I do. That any witness is a good witness and that I was somehow wrong for not wanting to plaster my vehicle with hate. However, the feedback I have received both here and on other forms of social media, I am encouraged. Just a little. It appears that more than just you and I feel this way. So, hopefully, if we continue to speak out more people will realize that not all Christians want to hurt.
I realize we can’t stop the movement, but we can show the non believers that some of us want to love them. Some of us are willing to get messier than an 8 word bumper sticker allows. Some of us believe in grace and forgiveness.
Keep your head up friend, everything you do makes a difference, even if you can’t see it right away.
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 2:56 pm
“So, as Christians, I believe we have to stop making blanket statements…”
Wait a second, your whole article is a blanket statement because love to you is a gushy, mushy, fuzzy feeling. It’s not.
When Jesus walked the earth, He was more than warm, fuzzy relationships. He took on the religious leaders and the Pharisees and He wasn’t always nice, right? He chased people out of the temple with a whip. He called Pharisees “white-washed sepulchers.” He called Peter, “Satan.” He prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem which happened 40 years later when over 1,000,000 Jews died.
Then in Acts, Ananias and Saphira were killed by the Holy Spirit for their sins.
Was all of this God’s love? Yes, because God is love.
I understand what you’re trying to say, but God’s love is not comparable to man’s love. Sometimes, it’s warm. Sometimes, it’s tough. And sometimes, it slaps you in the face with a bumper sticker which states, “Abortion is Murder.”
Saturday, December 31, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Larry, first off let me thank you for your comment. I do appreciate the push back.
Let me clarify one thing first off. I do not believe that love is only a “gushy, mushy, fuzzy feeling”. I believe that God shows me tough love all the time. If you read back through some of my latest posts you will see that I believe that I have been shown some pretty tough love lately. But, I also believe I can take it. I know God. I know who He is. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that even when I feel like my faith is as shaken as it can get and my heart is as hurt as it could possibly be, that God is there.
I believe we have to deal with non believers a little differently. I don’t think it starts out with anger and tough love, and I really don’t think that we are EVER called to judge anyone. Is my sin any better than the girl I’m calling out with my “abortion is murder” sticker? It is my understanding that sin is sin – so who do I think I am putting stickers on my car in an attempt to show those none believers some tough love. From where I sit, it makes me no better than those Pharisees that Jesus got so righteously angry with.
Non believers already feel judged by us, they already have a horrific view of Christianity. I’m just merely suggesting that we love our neighbor. Something I’m pretty sure Jesus felt strongly about as well.
I’m not arguing that Jesus was a warm, fuzzy, seeker sensitive guy while he walked this earth. I’m more asking you to look at who he was angry with. He loved on the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the sinners and the “nobodies”. He called out the over religious, “thought they were better than everyone” Pharisees. Perhaps the “bumper sticker warriors” of that time. Perhaps?
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 11:50 am
So wonderfully said Tiffany. You put the finger on what I couldn’t, when I see a bumper sticker that just kind of makes me queasy (like when your loving grandma says something completely un-pc, and you pops the bubble of perfection you had her in). You made me want to go get a bumper sticker that does say something to who Jesus is, as in “We’re not perfect, but he loves us perfectly”.
Who knows, maybe this new generation of Christians can spread the message of love instead of division, I’ll sure raise my kids that way.