There is something in all of us that loves the moral high ground. We want to be right. We like to feel superior. We want to stand above the mess, point to the failures of others, and quietly thank God that we are not like them. It feels safe up there. Clean. Justified.

But the gospel does not allow us to live on that hill very long.

In Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee stood tall, rehearsing his spiritual résumé before God. The tax collector stood at a distance, beating his chest, whispering, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The shocking part? The humble man went home justified.

If our own moral standing could save us, the cross would have been unnecessary. The very reason Jesus came was that we needed rescuing. None of us is morally superior to any other person.

This doesn’t mean truth doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean sin isn’t serious. It means we approach both with humility. We speak truth not as people who have climbed higher than everyone else, but as sinners saved by grace.

The Christian life is not about defending our moral platform; it is about kneeling at the foot of the cross. And from that posture, we are far more useful to God and far more gracious to others.

The safest place to stand is not on the moral high ground.

It is on the grace and mercy of God.

I know of a Church leader who is walking through a season in which they publicly admitted to having sinned. It is an ugly situation, and the list of sins committed is numerous. As part of their healing process, they stood before their Church and confessed their wrongdoing.

Recently, I spoke with their spouse, and they admitted how difficult the whole situation had been for their marriage and family. On the flip side, they went on to say how finally being honest about their behavior had been incredibly cleansing.

This person had carried the weight of their sin and shame for years upon years. This enormous burden was only lifted when they openly confessed to their behavior.

There is a simple lesson in this painful story. Whenever you are carrying the effects of your mistakes in your soul, you need to find a way to confess them. I am not telling you to stand up in Church and air all your dirty laundry. But you do need to find a trusted Christian friend with whom you can share your deepest, darkest secrets.

For many, this role has been delegated to therapists and counselors because people are assured of confidentiality. That might be a great place for you to start. But you do not have to go that route. You can find someone to confide in and begin sharing your struggles.

So many of the burdens we carry could be removed if only we embraced the power of confession.

Today, I want to express my gratitude to God for allowing me to live long enough to realize how dumb I was when I was younger.

I said stupid and ungodly things, sometimes in the name of Jesus. I lacked understanding. I lacked grace. I was totally clueless without life experience. And amazingly, God still used me to accomplish his will.

Each day at my office, I begin with prayer. The prayer always starts with thanksgiving. Today, I am so thankful that God allowed me to minister when I didn’t have a clue, and even more that he used me when I was young and dumb.

I am also thankful that he continues to use my life despite my ongoing lack of genuine knowledge. I know that one day I will look back on today and think, “Wow, I was not so young, and I was still dumb, but thanks be to God for using me anyway.”

Seth Godin on his blog shared a tiny little POST that simply states, “No” is a complete sentence, and so is “Yes.”

I loved it, but I felt compelled to add, “I don’t know” is a complete sentence too.

Because of our technology, it is assumed that we need to have an explanation or opinion on everything, especially if you are a Christian.

Honestly, none of us has enough time to read and explore every topic thoroughly. And watching a short video reel or two is not enough research to form a solid understanding. 

It is completely fine, even as a follower of Jesus, to respond to a question with, “I don’t know.”

Every pastor, teacher, podcaster, and small group leader you’ve ever heard (including me) interprets the Bible through their own experience. We try to study carefully and set aside our biases, but none of us can fully do so. Our backgrounds always shape how we understand and apply Scripture.

I once heard a megachurch pastor preach on relationships, and it was obvious his family of origin had deeply shaped his teaching. This happens with every teacher, whether they realize it or not.

This is partly why you connect with some teachers more than others. Their experiences mirror yours, and things “click” when they preach. But it’s also why you shouldn’t rely on just one voice. Different teachers bring different vantage points, and what one misses, another may illuminate. Over time, a variety of faithful voices helps you spot your own blind spots, too.

So listen widely and read closely. Hold every teaching up to Scripture itself, asking God to show you not only what the text means, but what it’s revealing about your own heart.

The man in the video was describing his view of Christian people. He said that he did not go to Church, read his Bible, or pray. Then he said, “I believe in God, but I am not religious like that.”

From what I could gather, he believed God existed and wanted to go to heaven, but he was not doing anything in his life that would normally be evidence of that belief. At his core, he is religious, but not the type who engages in religious activities.

Throughout my ministry, I have met hundreds, if not thousands, of people like him. They are not atheists or agnostics because they believe in God. But there is nothing in their actions that would lead you to think they were Christians. They believe in God in theory, but not in practice. Their faith exists more as a concept than a commitment.

Scripture paints a different picture of belief. Biblical faith is never merely intellectual agreement. It is trust that moves the heart and obedience that shapes the life. Jesus did not call people to believe that He exists, but to follow Him in all their ways.

This kind of faith will always be evident in prayer, Scripture reading, worship, repentance, and love for others. These are not a religious checklist, but are the natural overflow of a life being transformed by God.

Saying “I’m not religious like that” may feel honest, but it also reveals a deeper issue. Christianity was never meant to be a casual belief held at arm’s length. It is a relationship that demands action. God does not call us to convenience, but to devotion. And while none of us follow Him flawlessly, a faith that costs us nothing is not the faith Jesus described.

The question, then, is not whether we believe in God, but whether our lives are being shaped by Him. I want to be religious “like that.”

The old expression is “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” A new one for religious people might be “Don’t judge a Church by social media.”

Recently, my wife and I visited two megachurches on our vacation. If you were to go online and search for a while, you would find some very negative things written about both of these Churches; from the comments on posts, scathing Reddit discussions, to TikTok reels that will tell you everything evil about these Christian communities.

What my wife and I discovered were people who loved Jesus, were welcoming to us, and whose lives were being transformed by the Gospel. We found our experiences to be encouraging and uplifting. We heard people teach from the Bible and loudly sing the praises of Jesus.

While I admit that neither of these Churches is “my style” of community, it was exciting to see all that God was doing through them.

My advice is that before you say a negative word about a Church, you should go and visit. Talk to the people, and ask questions about their faith. Sure, every Church has flaws because it is composed of flawed people, but most of the people I met were genuinely trying to serve the Lord with all their heart and love their neighbor.

God is working in this world in various ways through all kinds of people. Just because they don’t act like you or in a style you like doesn’t mean they are bad people. It simply means there is diversity in the body of Christ, and that is worth praising rather than condemning.

There are people in your life who are struggling right now because of poor decisions they have made. Those choices may have been made recently or decades ago.

There are people in your life who are making poor decisions currently, and you can see that it will hurt them down the road.

There are people in your life who have secret sins that will one day damage their life, and you know something is wrong, even when they won’t confess it.

What should you do for these people?

First, you need to pray for them. Second, you need to lovingly confront them, if possible. But often the most significant thing you can do is to love them through it.

Never stop praying for them. Never stop reaching out. Never turn your back and walk away. You do not need to condone their behavior or publicly praise them for what they are doing. But privately let these people know you still have their back and will be there when the dust settles. The Apostle Paul writes, “if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.” (Gal. 6:1)

One of the greatest gifts any person can receive is friendship when we have made devastating choices, and the weight of those decisions fully hits us.

I spend much of my time around Christians who attend Church. Sometimes the things they say and do leave me unsure whether to laugh or cry. Do I ignore their behavior and chalk it up to immature faith? Or do I grieve the lack of spiritual growth I see?

Lately, I’ve chosen grace.

That doesn’t mean I excuse sin or settle for spiritual immaturity. Growth still matters. Truth still matters. But grace reminds me that I, too, am a work in progress. The same patience God extends to me is the patience He calls me to extend to others.

Every day we face a choice: frustration or compassion, judgment or grace. When we choose grace, we create space for God to transform hearts, including our own.

Some people who knew you before your faith journey can’t reconcile the person you were with the follower of Jesus you’ve become. Your transformation might even shock them.

Similarly, you may be amazed by who accepts your invitation to Church, and even more so by the transformation that unfolds in their life afterward.

It’s incredible what an invitation might do.