CUT AND PASTE CHRISTIANS

“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love,

and of a sound mind.”

2 Timothy 1:7

Like me, you may have received an inspirational email from a well-meaning friend, attributing some lovely poem or story to a well-known author. Always, the message comes with a heartfelt introduction assuring you that this comes from reliable sources and that you should send it along to as many people as possible right away.

One such email came to me recently. The message was entitled “’I am a Christian” by Dr. May Angelou.” Perhaps someone sent you this beautiful little poem as well . . .

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."

I'm whispering "I was lost,

Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble

and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak

And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed

And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible

But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I still feel the sting of pain.

I have my share of heartaches

So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not holier than thou,

I'm just a simple sinner

Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Isn’t that fantastic! What a wonderful reminder of who we are in Christ. The only problem is, Maya Angelou didn’t write it. Yet, when I did a little checking online, I found hundreds of Christian websites featuring this same poem all giving credit to her. Many ministries saw the same email as me and simply “cut and paste” the text on their website – passing along the same false information about the author.

The truth is, the poem was written by a very nice woman named Carol Wimmer. Carol is a very smart lady, a writer, researcher and grandmother from Kansas. She wrote her original poem, “When I say I am a Christian,” in 1988 after which it was published in several Christian periodicals. No matter. When it was placed on the internet, as Carol says on her website, it “began taking on a life of its own.”

Why am I telling you all this? Because I want to remind you how important it is to always seek the truth. As followers of Jesus, it is more important for us to always know and spread the absolute truth. We cannot afford to be “Cut and Paste” Christians – just reading something online or in the newspaper or seeing something on television and passing it along to others as reality. If what we say is false or misleading, then it only makes us look foolish and destroys the credibility of all Christians.

The best place to start is God’s Word. With it, you don’t have to worry about what the truth is. It is the source of truth. And from it you can measure all other knowledge and wisdom. Don’t be afraid. If you make it your mission to continually seek the truth, God will surely reveal it to you every time.

This Week’s Prayer

Lord, show me the truth. In everything I see and in all that I do, please bring me to the real truth. Protect me from being fooled and from being foolish. Allow me a deeper understanding of Your Word so that I will always have Your wisdom to rely on. Strengthen me with the light of Word so that I may bring the healing power of Your true love to the world. Amen.