Christians Are People Too

Back when I was in 2nd grade, we used to have this saying posted on top of the class room bulletin board, “Be yourself!” I’m sure you’ve heard it too, from teachers and peers and parents and coaches. Everybody seems to shout out at us that we need to be unique and not judge others for their differences.
I was homeschooled from second through tenth grade. I just started public school this year.
Talk about culture shock.
It wasn’t really that I’ve been sheltered, just that I’d never had the first hand experience. I was innocent, not naïve. But even those long talks with my parents and pastor couldn’t have prepared for the biggest shock.
It is practically impossible to be a true Christian in high school.
I live in a picture perfect little town! Forget Starbucks, you can almost literally find a church on every corner here. There are at least five within walking distance of the high school. If you were to find anywhere in America to be a Christian without opposition it was here, al la middle-of-nowhere Christianville!
But high school isn’t like that. It’s a million of differing opinions each bouncing angrily off one another in a frenzy of misunderstandings. People accept everyone in ways books have led me to believe was impossible. Teachers coo over ultra sound pictures of pregnant teens, some as young as fourteen, and subjects such as sex and alcohol consumption are discussed as freely as if they were the latest movie reviews or complaints about homework assignments.
I’m not trying to judge anyone. I know there are a lot of different kinds of people in this world. Even in my school, there are a lot of different people who are great to be around during lunch or to talk to after school. But I find that my people, the Christians, are now the ones under attack.
As a Christian who is open about her faith, I have been labeled judgmental and condescending because of what I believe.
But I also believe that lying is a sin.
Obviously I don’t think people who lie deserve the same punishment as a murderer. I believe it is not my place to judge. I’m not going to judge you if you are living a lifestyle I don’t approve of. But if you’re going to ask my opinion, don’t write me off just because you don’t like the answer. I am just trying to live my life by the orders of my faith, by the orders of my self. I don’t want to judge you. I’m not trying to change you. I just want to be allowed to live the way I am built to live. Is that so much different from what you want yourselves?