How we think shapes our understanding of this world. Those who are religious have found a way of expressing their own understanding. That is why there are religious Christians, Jews, Muslims and many other people who are each “religious” in their own way. Those who see themselves more as atheists are also “believers”, because everything revolves around God, albeit “in denial”. That is not neutral.

I dare say that no human being is neutral in this life. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we live with a simplification of this world. It is our understanding. I see it as a human ability to be able to imagine something according to which you organize your life. This is a neutral statement. However, how we use this ability and what we fill our understanding with is something completely different.

Am I a believer?

If I relate this question to myself and pay attention to what other people say about me, then I am

• Too believing for some, not believing enough for others
• Too evangelical for some, not evangelical enough for others
• too Bible-oriented for some, too little Bible-oriented for others
• too theological for some, not theological enough for others
• right-thinking for some, wrong-thinking for others.

It’s good that you can’t and don’t have to please everyone. Anyone who tries to do that has already lost. Those who merely try to fulfill the demands of others are not free.

However, I regularly talk to people who seriously ask themselves whether they believe “enough”. They get this idea from the communities and contacts they are part of. There, agreement with certain doctrines is seen as a measure of faith. Anyone who does not agree with this “cannot” be a believer. I often hear from people that they are deeply unsure whether they are believers or not.

Many people have already denied me my faith, accused me of demonic possession just because I don’t subscribe to certain ideas. Such statements tell me more about those who condemn than about myself.

If I could give encouragement, I would tell everyone to set out on a positive path in life. What you believe is nourished and made possible by many things. Therefore, what you feed yourself with, especially mentally, has a strong effect on what you think and believe (Psalm 1 shows what this could look like).

Self-righteousness

Some get caught up in orthodoxy, that is, in certain assumptions about how and what to believe. Jesus confronted the self-righteous of his time. Today, of course, this self-righteousness also exists. They are people who condemn and denounce others without delay. They set rules, define what is right and what is wrong, and encourage other people to follow them.

Self-righteousness is a way of life. It is not tied to specific churches or free churches. It’s about the overconfidence of some people. I have encountered self-righteous evangelicals, but also arrogant theologians. What all these people have in common is the belief that they are supposedly in the right and think they can look down on others. They are the greatest impediments to genuine community and contagious faith.

The reality is much simpler: we all don’t know. None of us has an overview of all the issues. This also applies to faith. We can only look back on our experience or share the answers we have found ourselves. We can share these insights in the community. However, we cannot derive a claim to absoluteness for our knowledge.

Characteristics of a healthy faith

Those who are healthy in their faith will release others into the freedom of Christ and not bind them to themselves. People are led to Christ. This is the simplest test. Paul describes this in Ephesians as follows:

“But if we are true, we should make everything grow in love, into Him who is the head, Christ.”
Eph 4:15-16

Truth is recognized from an attitude of service that has only one thing in mind: To help people grow. The direction of this growth does not lie in the acceptance of certain dogmas, but is “into Him who is the head, Christ”. It is towards a person and into the understanding of Christ. We can deduce what this means from Paul’s concerns as recorded in his letters.

The attitude of service should be evident in all those who wish to be actively involved in the community of believers. Paul writes at length about these things in his letters to Timothy. The apostle spoke to Timothy about the requirements for spiritual tasks in the churches. Like this:

“Credible is the word: If anyone desires an overseer’s office, he desires an ideal job.”
1Tim 3,1

Servants should “keep the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience”. In addition, Paul says, they should first prove themselves:

“But let these also prove themselves first, and then let them serve if they are blameless.”
1Tim 3:9-10

This service probation is something completely different from completing an apprenticeship, a degree or a course. It has nothing to do with whether someone has a high opinion of themselves, a high level of education or supposedly overflows with charismatic special effects. None of these things qualify for service. On the other hand, those who can keep the mystery of faith in a clear conscience, who prove themselves in service, have shown themselves to be tried and tested “ministers” who are “fit” for service in the church.

Do not rule over the faith of others

Those who stand in the community with an attitude of service, who try to help others to grow, fulfill an important task. At no time is it about certain doctrines, about an understanding of faith characterized by rules, but it is always about the person who is allowed to continue. Paul is aware of his servant attitude when he writes:

“Not that we have dominion over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, because you have stood firm in the faith.”
2Cor 1,24

As noted earlier, it doesn’t matter what we believe or why we believe it. An open learning culture is needed so that a healthy attitude of faith can be mutually promoted in the community. It is worth working towards this. “How much” we believe, whether we are doing everything “right”, is not for us to judge. Judging yourself based on the assumptions and projections of others is disastrous. Let us support each other in promoting our trust in God in freedom, always keeping Christ before our eyes.