It's been over 6 years since my last post. I actually forgot I had this blog. So I figured I'd start this up again, though not as the Bible study "blog" that you can find from the website, workmenforChrist.org/DailyBibleStudies
Rather, this will be other article type of writings. So, why not start it up again with this topic: Chihuahua Christians!
For the longest time I've tried considering a way to describe a particular type of Christian that I once was, and that I see quite often on the internet. I just couldn't seem to pinpoint a good enough description until the other day. I came up with..."chihuahua Christians!" One guess as to what that describes...
Some people love the Chihuahua breed of dogs. Personally...I consider them "ankle biters" and tease people saying a dog is not a dog unless he/she weighs more than 40lbs! I've grown up with big dogs, and will always love big dogs. In my mind, and in the mind of many other people, chihuahuas are known for being barkers. They bark and bark and bark at the slightest noise, or sight of a stranger, or knock on the door, or whatever it is they just decide to bark at. They'll bark at their own shadows if they so choose! I remember a good friend and brother in Christ who once put it nicely concerning big dogs versus small dogs. He said something along the lines of "the small dogs will bark and bark but then run when you come along. The Big dogs though tend to remain silent and let their size do their talking...they don't bark...they just BITE!"
This brings me to the reason I coined the term "chihuahua Christians." I say the following...from both experience in my own life, and seeing it in other brethren as well. This tends to be more prevalent toward Christians on the internet, but it's also seen among those offline who tend not to stay plugged into a local body or involved with offline ministry. So I'm not saying this from some sort of judgmental, accusatory position, but rather from a position of "I've been there...got the T-shirt...and ask that you learn from my mistake!"
Chihuahua Christians, are Christians who seem to bark a LOT. They will bark and bark and bark and bark at any and everything they deem to be some sort of threat...without ever actually considering whether that thing is a threat or not. They perceive it to be a threat because they don't know it, or it's unfamiliar, and therefore they bark. You know the type I'm sure. When I was a chihuahua Christian...I had a lot of "head knowledge" about the false beliefs of this religion and that religion and I was very eager to shove down people's throats and cry out "FALSE TEACHER!!!" "HEATHEN!!" "TURN OR BUUUUURRRRN!!"
At the slightest hint of something I didn't like or understand, or at the slightest sight of a stranger, I was eager to condemn with my barking. I claimed that I was just being a watchman...that I was just warning people...but the problem was...I was a foolish chihuahua. I wasn't like the big dogs who watched...who paid attention...who studied whether something was an actual threat or just a perceived threat. I decided to let my bark make me look big and bad, instead of let my SIZE speak for itself! Afterall...God in me doesn't require me to be some sort of irritatingly irritable ankle-biter who barks and barks and barks in an attempt to compensate for my size...God in me is BIGGER than any threat!
I see this in many, many Christians today on the internet. A very general and singular example would be that one of these chihuahua Christians come along someone who goes to a catholic church. Before even finding out what this person believes, they immediately start barking and barking with such a shrill bark, about how catholics aren't saved and how the pope is the anti-christ of Revelation (ugh, don't get me started on that one), and that the person is an idolater and on and on for hours if they're allowed! They just keep barking before even finding out what that individual believes...or considering HOW to approach that person, under the leading of the Holy Spirit! They just bark and bark because they read somewhere on the internet or in some article or book or they heard some TV preacher say a few things about the teachings of catholicism, and this person went to a catholic church and therefore they MUST need to be barked at!
That's what a chihuahua Christian is. Someone who has a whoooole lot of bark, without any proper discernment or wisdom to know reality versus perceived reality.
I used to be like that...and I see FAR TOO MANY of those same chihuahua Christians. My best understanding is that these chihuahuas come into existence through a lack of being plugged into actual ministry and an actual local body of believers and they lack actual face to face interaction with people. You see...when we begin interacting with souls on a face to face level...we learn. We discern. We learn how to be led by the Holy Spirit to find out what each and every individual person believes, and we actually MINISTER to them based upon proper discernment. We don't feel the need to bark at the slightest shadow of a shape of something that looks like it might be unbiblical. We don't feel the need to bark because we learn discernment...wisdom...and we learn that IF someone is actually unbiblical...the BIG GOD in us...doesn't need compensation through shrill "yip! yip! yip!" barking. We do a simple, deep, "WOOF!" expressing the truth and showing in the Word of God, and sincerely desiring they come to Christ.
The example I used above about catholics, is actually a single but common thing I see. And the chihuahua Christians usually talk about how alllllllll catholics just "hate" to hear the Truth and they just get oh so angry whenever we speak what the Bible says... And I often ask the question to these chihuahua Christians... "Oh really? How many actual catholics have you lovingly talked with? Because I've only come across a handful who are angry and yet come across MANY who are apathetic about it, and a few who actually appreciate being told what the Bible says. So reality tends to paint a different picture from what you're saying." And the reality comes out that...the chihuahua actually has not talked with many Catholics face to face...but they're just basing their "bark! bark! bark! bark! bark!" off of how they perceive the people to be based upon something they read or were told from some other chihuahua christian.
I said I used to be like that myself. So I know from example. You know how the Lord grew me into a big dog instead of being a chihuahua? He opened doors of face to face ministry. When I began to have more experience in ministering to people face to face...and learning how to be led by the Holy Spirit instead of some anti-this or anti-that internet article...I learned how to handle people. I learned how to actually lead people to the Lord instead of just a step by step sinner's prayer thesis from some article. I learned how to distinguish between the perceived unbiblical things, and the actual unbiblical things. And I was able to actually meet people where they were just like Jesus did. I am able to actually lead people to the Lord instead of scare them off or annoy them to death with shrill barking that is fiercer than the actual bite (power) within me!
If you're a chihuahua...and you know who you are...I advise you to do this....get out and among the people. Plug yourself into a local body of believers and become a member of the Body of Christ, and learn the reality that there are MANY different personalities among the members of the same body of Christ, and learn to discern the spirit, rather than outward look. Trust me...you'll soon grow into a Big Dog who has not only the bark...but the Presence to back it up! And you'll be able to let His Presence prove any bark, instead of trying to convince people with a bark.
I love you all....and cannot wait to see more German Shepherd Christians out there working the Lord's Harvest!
