I wanted to elaborate on how the concept of godliness harms the cultivation of good mental health in a Christian society. I have already stated that the idea of someone achieving a state of godliness is a misunderstanding of our nature. We are anchored in the material via our brains. We have a specific genetic framework, a particular upbringing, and life experiences that shape who we are, and it is shaped within the material. It is therefore rigid, but not permanent. Yet, some events in our lives are so hideous that we can never recover in this lifetime, only make the best of a broken heart or a traumatized brain. We can change from hateful, bitter people to loving, nurturing people, but it is an arduous process. Too often, bitter people who become Christians re-label their bitterness as something more acceptable in the Christian culture.

Our modern concept of godliness relies on a spiritual model in which our natures are immaterial and easily swayed in either direction. That the Holy Spirit transforms us, as by magic, into good people. Therefore, we are expected to attain godliness and purity.

When there is a disconnect between who we think we can be and the nature of who we are, it is an opportunity for pretentiousness to fill the gap. This is why, and I recently wrote about this, there are so many nasty things in the closets of godly people. This is why one of the pastors I had in college, who was a champion of godliness and, in my opinion, a critic of other Christians, was arrested for sexually exposing himself. This is why the most godly man I knew in college was caught with a hooker. I could go on and on.

I remember playing the godly game. Pretending I was happy when I was pissed. Pretending to be joy-filled when I was depressed. Pretending I was a servant of God when I was about as selfish in my thinking as anyone could be. It was also a period of my life when I felt I had been called by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to not only see non-Christians as disgusting, but to straighten out Christians who were spiritually inferior to me.

Some might feel that nothing has changed. Isn’t that what I’m doing now, trying to straighten people out? Lord, I hope not! It is not how I feel. Honestly, I feel grossly inferior to others, especially those I respect at Church, and I appreciate most of them. While, honestly, I have always wrestled with low self-esteem, cancer has magnified it a thousandfold.

But I also feel a deep passion for those who are fed up with Christianity and are looking for a way out. I have been there. But I think there is hope in finding the historical Jesus and his teachings, a creator of the cosmos, that is honest without the bullshit of the American Christian culture. No, I do not feel called to “fix” those who love the Christian culture the way it is, God bless them. But I do feel called to speak with remarkable candor to those with one foot out the door of the church. Definitely not to criticize them, but to agree with them. The bullshit they see is absolute bullshit. They are smart for recognizing it. But my message is that they don’t have to adopt everything from that culture to believe in a creator or follow the historical Jesus. I digress.

As I wrote last time, encouragement is the calling of the church and the easiest and most direct way to promote good mental health in others. The way our false sense of godliness undercuts this process is when you think you are godly, that you follow a better spiritual guru, or you have a better spiritual experience; it becomes difficult to see the good in others. If you cannot see the good, you cannot compliment or encourage them. Believing that your godly state eclipses that of others makes you a critic. That you have been given the position of God’s spokesperson, to point out the errors of others, while your myth of self-godliness blinds you to your failures.

I said I wanted to write about the practical implications of being an encourager, and I will do that next time. The greatest gift that any of us can receive is a good friend who accepts us as who we are, loves us despite our shortcomings, and is not a critic due to their own magnification of self-righteousness, and is a constant encourager. They are worth their weight in gold.

I must pause here to celebrate the holidays with my family and friends and pick up on this in a couple of days.

I hope this will be your most excellent holiday season ever, and I pray encouragers surround you.

Mike