What do these two men have in common?  They are both Christians.  Interestingly, both men’s Christianity were in the public eyes these past couple of weeks.  Dwight Howard became a first time dad while Stephen Baldwin’s (his website is totally gangstar by the way) team lost a challenge in Celebrity Apprentice.  

 So why are these things significant?  Dwight Howard entered the NBA carrying a giant I <3 Jesus logo on his back.  He was the number one draft pick and now a bonna-fide superstar and/or “absolute beast” as some would like to say.  Different from many other superstars, Howard was vocal about his faith and his devotion to Jesus.  So imagine the shock of the media when Balla-for Christ announced that he and his girlfriend had a child out of wedlock.  His Christianity came under scrutiny.

 Stephen Baldwin, movie actor, was completing a task with his teammates during celebrity apprentice.  A situation arose where they obtained information in a devious manner from the opposing team.  The dilemma of cheating and lying arose.   Stephen was caught in the midst of  the entire turmoil.  His Christianity came under scrutiny. 

 For both men, the questions, “Hey I thought you were a Christian?” was raised; the word hyprocrite was thrown around.  The conclusion, “. . . and that is why I will never be a Christian” was reached. 

As a Christian, we strive to be all that we can be; we strive to be a good example; we strive to spread the good word.  Often times we succeed.  But as humans, we err.  We need to be better, but we fail.  The pain of letting down the person who gave their all to save you.  We fail to live up to the standard that Christ has set before us.  A moral standard that not only Christ holds us to, but the unbelieving world as well.  The world study every moves of these Christians, and are ready to point out their failure to attain sainthood.  “Ah ha! I knew they were hypocrites!” shouts the world triumphantly everytime a Christian falls. 

While facts indicate that Christians reflect the qualities of Christ and of God, the truth remains that we are not God and we end up flat on our faces from time to time.  If a person is a nonbeliever, they should be careful not to be so rash and foolish as to base their disbelieve in God on human frailty and folly.  Born again Christians do not become perfect beings the moment they are converted.  Change takes time and work.  Character is built from hardships and failures.  Reaching a conclusion solely on the behaviors of a fallen human race is unwise, especially if those conclusions can have eternal consequences.  Our lives are our own and we need to make our choices wisely.