Why Is It So Hard to Be a Christian Today?

In early 2015, I wrote a blog discussing the desensitization of America. I wrote, “What is our problem today? We are constantly bombarded with more and more exposure to foul language, violence, and sexual situations. I mean, when you cannot even watch a live sporting event on television with your children for fear that you may have to have the uncomfortable ‘birds and bees’ talk with your six-year-old because of all the erectile dysfunction commercials, you know there must be a larger problem.” I was a frustrated mom watching the world as I knew it rapidly decline right before my eyes because I started seeing things through the eyes of my children.

I knew we were a culture growing progressively more and more desensitized to how we view life, humanity, gender roles, and children. I knew it was getting bad, but I honestly had no idea how bad it would really get. Until now.

As I read through this old blog post recently, I thought to myself, “We are a secular culture who does church rather than a church culture who lives among the secular.” Some may say this is semantics, but this is a very important message for Christians. Our country may have been founded on Christian principles, but our country is no longer eager to put God first.

I just finished teaching a series on 1 and 2 Timothy on my podcast, The Depot Podcast with Erin Olson, and recently answered the question, “Why Is It So Hard to Be a Christian Today?” The Apostle Paul knew the conditions that would present themselves in the last days. He told Timothy how people would be lovers of self, disobedient, unholy, without self-control, and brutal (to name a few) (2 Timothy 3:2–5). We are living under these conditions because the majority of Americans are moving farther away from God. Not only are they moving farther from Him, but they also aren’t even faking being godly anymore.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we need to hold each other up and encourage one another to stay the course. We need to believe the actions we take today will change the course of a generation—whether that generation is our generation or a future generation. We need to fight for our children when they do not even realize they need to be fought for. We need to fight for our own souls as well. Like toxic waste slowly seeping into groundwater, the wickedness of this world can slowly seep into our souls if we are not taking proactive measures to shut down the toxic waste-contributing factor. Repeated exposure = desensitization.
 
Even though it may be hard and uncomfortable to be a Christian in America right now, do it anyway. Use your voice. Use your influence. Use the power of prayer. Use the Word of God to teach, rebuke, and train (2 Timothy 16). Make your life reflect Jesus so much that it draws the attention of those who need to discover who Jesus is. Just as in times past, as well as times present, life can change in the blink of an eye. May we never grow weary, and may we never throw up our hands in defeat because He who lives in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).