My Faith is Better Than Yours

You believe in Jesus and I believe in Jesus, but my believing is better than yours. You don’t do it right.
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For one thing, you use music that I don’t like. My music is holy – set apart – while yours is… not. It’s so secular. Even though God never plays an audible note in the Bible, clearly He condones only those musical forms that folks like me prefer. I know He tells us to sing “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,” but obviously your spiritual songs are not as good as my hymns. Jesus blesses me because my hymns are steak and lobster, whereas your songs are more like burgers and fries.

And they’re soooo repetitive! It’s like you’re teaching little children to speak instead of prepping scholars for their dissertation. Before you come back at me with “Lamb of God, Pure and Holy” being the same verse three times, or “Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds” overdosing the alleluias, those are classics going back centuries, almost to Luther! They have passed the test of time, regardless if they were contemporary 500 years ago. We’re all singing the same hymns our forefathers sang, even if the Bible doesn’t provide the music.

Another thing: do you really have to tell God how great He is, over and over? He already knows that, but if you have to say it, do it properly, like in “How Great Thou Art.” He loves it when you call Him “Thou!” So forget about those fun “camp songs” that kids actually enjoy singing. Give them a hymnal so they do it right. Why would anyone want to have fun in the presence of Almighty God?

That’s just the music. How about the way you dress? We dress for a formal banquet at the King’s Palace; you dress like you’re going to a friend’s house to hang out together. Not very sacred or respectful. Does God approve of blue jeans? I think not. He’s probably offended that you approach Him like He's one of you, as if He just invited you over to talk.

Your pastors don’t even wear the clerical collar everywhere. How is anyone supposed to know that they’re the pastor? Granted, the clerical collar didn’t originate until the Middle Ages and grew out of a moderation of men’s attire of that time, but it announces that they are holy men – set apart – so we will know they are the mouth and hands of God. All you do is listen to them preach and teach. No respect for tradition.

That’s the key right there: tradition. You need to keep the traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation because that’s the only proper way to be a Christian. Our traditions are what unite us and tell the world that in the eyes of God we are holy – set apart. It doesn’t matter if Christ’s Word gives us freedom from sin and the Law, if those ceremonial rules bind us together.

The marks of the Church are the Word of God taught purely and the Sacraments administered properly, but we’re the ones who determine pure and proper. We’ve even put together a constitution and all sorts of bylaws to make sure everyone does the same thing everywhere, even if the Scriptures aren’t so specific.

Traditions matter. Jesus might have been a little too quick to dismiss everything the Pharisees were about, and Luther could’ve handled the role of tradition better, too.

I’m sure when we all get to heaven – if you get to heaven – you’ll see what I was right. I’ll be with those sitting in the front row, while you’ll probably be in the nosebleeds somewhere. That’s what happens when you don’t have a good enough faith, like me. You’ll barely be saved.

So what do you say to that?

ME:  I think you’re doing a great job, sharing the Gospel, preaching Christ crucified, singing those beautiful hymns and placing such a huge emphasis on Word and Worship. I try to, too. But, please, keep up the good work!