ON WHY YOU CAN BE GOOD ENOUGH: OPINION ON CHRISTIAN MESSAGING
When it comes to talking on social issues, I don’t much. However as I went back (last year) to re-format hundreds of old posts one thing I did learn is that I have written multiple times on varying topics. Recently things like social media has been heavy on my mind as has the topic of Christian messaging. One specifically is the message of you’re not good enough, something that seems harmful in ways I don’t think most would agree. A few weeks ago I wrote on this very messaging, but I found another draft on the topic plus a line from a new song stuck with me.
All this combined and I thought I could make a second discussion out of it.
DISCUSSION | TO ASK A QUESTION: WHAT IF GOD ISN’T IN CONTROL?
Before we press on, as I’ve been trying to do in any opinion piece similar to this, I want to state the following. This is solely an opinion. I’m not basing this on something other than observation and opinion. I’m not citing a source other than what I observe people post on social media. That said, let’s jump in.
You Aren’t Good Enough
Church today seems to consistently share the message that human beings sin. I don’t have a problem with that statement on one level. People do sin. There is bad in the world. However church and individual Christians abuse this and take it further. They seem to impress on their congregants, or followers if the scenario is a social media personality, that humans sin every day. That in basic terms translates into the, yes, you aren’t good enough so WHY even try?
This kind of messaging is leading and saying we aren’t confident enough (in life or faith) to be good enough.
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What does ‘Good Enough’ Mean?
By the standards of this message, there’s destruction. I see this, in different forms, plastered on social media every single day.
When I use the term, I’m not saying we, as human beings, don’t have flaws or that we don’t sometimes sin. What I’m saying is that we can and should, live a full life. We should recognize (don’t dwell)our flaws, strive (live and love life) for better and move forward (in the future). I don’t believe God is a God who wants us to do life in halves. This doesn’t mean we won’t stumble or that there’s not still have a responsibility to follow commandments, but within that, there’s messages to live fully and to enjoy a life in Christ and in being confident as we walk this earthly life.
Part of this messaging, I believe, is to further the argument that no matter what you do, you’ll always stumble, fall and yes, sin. It’s here to say “see? No matter what, you’ll sin and that’s cool because you’re not enough.” It’s like church and Christian personalities excuse behavior with the “you’ll sin every day” (and it’s ok) messaging, then the not being enough also falls in line.
“Good enough” isn’t a stereotype or meant to be taken as you’re just “good enough” no matter what. No, what I’m saying is that unlike what I see so many Christian social media accounts preach or even churches, we CAN be good (enough) if we do our best, putting in the work.
You Can Be Good Enough
I do believe that while, yes, there is bad and there IS sin which God sees, He also does see our hearts. He knows who we are and who are good. He knows how we feel, help and pursue.
The influencers putting this message out there, I hope, come from a good place. They want to combat the message that any one person(meaning sole without anything or anyone else) IS enough on their own. They want to challenge that cultural message that no one truly “needs” someone else because the person we are is all we need.
That is one extreme, but so is the messaging that we aren’t good or “enough.”
There has to be a sense of being enough in our relationships when we put the genuine and good work in. There has to be a sense of enough when we’re living with God at the center. Otherwise, just like the cultural life, we’ll chase things that we shouldn’t or we’ll develop patterns of doing something wrong, shrugging, asking forgiveness and repeating the same offenses.
I think there’s a meeting in the middle somewhere between these two extremes that would, honestly, be better representative of this argument. At the end of the day, much of what I’m saying comes down to choice and intention. It comes down to how we choose to live, and at the heart of all of this is a God who knows our heart, and intention.
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