Why is Christianity so good for the world?

In many nations rooted and built on Christian values, new ideas and ideologies are being tried that sound Christian too, like the new religion of ‘Diversity, Inclusion and Equity’ and its offshoots of justice, accessibility and belonging. 

It sounds really good too, but how is it working out in practice? – taking into account Jesus’ advice in Matthew 7:15, to “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Fortunately, verse 16, “By their fruit you will recognize them.”

The same could be said of Christianity too, of course, because we’ve got 2,000 years of Christian practice to look back on to judge it by its fruits too. Has Christianity, for instance, done more harm than good, or more good than harm? Or, since we’re all fallible human beings, has Christianity, despite its obvious faults and horrific blunders, at least come up with a record that shows it’s been better for the world than what non-Christians have come up with?   

But how does one judge that? Christians and non-Christians have both shown they are capable of doing good and even great deeds, but equally horrible deeds too. We can name names and historical records of both good and bad on both sides. And it’s amazing how quite evil people can do loving things, while supposedly loving people in the Christian fold can hate, shoot to kill, follow tyrannical leaders, and be just as unforgiving, arrogant, judgmental and jealous as non-Christians. 

So why is Christianity so good for the world? Because it’s meant to create people who “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to building each other up,” Romans 14:19, based on the dawning realization that “anyone who serves Christ in this way is deeply pleasing to God – and passes the trust test with people too” (18). 

Peace, therefore, becomes the driving force in a Christian’s life, just as it will be for Jesus when he sets up his government on earth in Isaiah 9:7. In the meanwhile, we get the chance to see and learn what God means by peace and how it works in practice. Taking into account that the kind of peace Jesus promised in John 14:27 is nothing like what this world comes up with to create peace. His peace is beyond our best efforts, and beyond what we can even imagine too (Philippians 4:7). But we can judge by the fruits in our lives and the lives of others if it works. So “What is peace God-style like?”….(next blog)