I liked the January 8, 2013 devotion in Our Daily Bread. In
it, there's a story about a Christian who was talking to a man named
Bob, who did not care much for Christianity. The Christian asked Bob if
he knew where sinners go, and Bob replied, "That's easy, you're going
to tell me they go to hell." The Christian responded to that, "No, they
go to church."
The author of this devotion narrates that Bob was
"speechless": "That wasn't what he expected. He wasn't ready to hear
from a Christian who realized he wasn't perfect. My friend had a chance
to share that Christians understand their sinfulness and their need for
continual spiritual restoration. He was able to explain grace----the
unmerited favor we have with God despite our sinfulness..."
This
reminded me of a story that a Christian truck-driver once told me. He
said that a coworker was inviting him to church, and he replied that he
encounters enough hypocrites in his day-to-day life, so he does not need
to encounter more in a church building! But the co-worker meekly
responded, "Brother, you don't go to church to look at the people, but
to look at Jesus, since he's the only one who can save you!" The
co-worker's humility attracted the truck driver to what he (the
co-worker) was saying.
There's something beautiful about
humility. Unfortunately, there are many churches that lack this.
Either people act as if they're perfect and look down on others, or they
use the "Nobody's perfect" line to excuse their own immorality or rude
behavior. But there are also good churches out there. Of course, me
taking other people's moral inventory is not particularly humble on my
part!