bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
-Luke 6-28

Christian culture, as I experience it today, seems so much different than the Christian culture I grew up in. The vast array of perceptual difference would be difficult to characterize in one sitting; but I was thinking earlier about five small words that, when strung together, have an immense impact on the person they are spoken to. It is the way that these words are used that really illustrate the difference between my former and current view of Christian culture. The words are the same, but the intention in their usage is very different. The words, in question, are these:

"I will pray for you."

Have you ever used these words in a confrontational, venomous and unkind way toward another person? Maybe, that person took your parking spot at the grocery store. Maybe that person's kid beat up your kid. Maybe they had a bumper sticker you didn't like. You know what I am getting at.

Five words; words that were meant to heal, uplift and encourage...twisted into a deftly brandished blade of cruelty that casts even more shadow on the already sullied reputation of our faith.

I can not begin to count the number of times I witnessed this as a youth by various Christians in my life. This caused great confusion in my mind. I was unable to reconcile what I was witnessing to what I was being taught. The effect this has on non-Christians is even more devestating; giving them one more reason to stay totally clear of Christians as we keep proving them right, over and over again.

Prayer is precious. Telling someone that we will pray for them is an act of commitment. Taking your time to intercede on someone's behalf is a worthy undertaking that God honors. I don't think God appreciates it when people use the gift of prayer as a way to alleviate their own feelings of offense toward another.

During those moments we should really be saying "I will repent for being prideful and offended." Then, we could go home and actually pray for them, not at them. It has always been more about why we do things than about what we do. The intentions of our hearts are totally visible to God. Fervently and genuinely praying for someone who has wronged us requires humility. It requires us to put our offense aside; to make that person more important and ourselves less so. God likes that. Try it.

There is a great cultural shift that is taking place in Christianity. Hopefully, part of that shift will include less and less people using the idea of prayer as a weapon against others. That's not what it was meant for.