After announcing last week that he and his wife of eight years, Anna Faris, were separating, Chris Pratt was the recipient of some serious judgment.
The actor has long been open and outspoken about his Christian faith, but in the wake of the couple’s announcement, many people (Christians included) took it upon themselves to question his faith, rather than lift a brother up.
As Christians, it’s easy for the world to point their fingers and call us hypocrites.
And they’re totally right. Christians ARE hypocrites.
That’s because living life, and living it in obedience to God’s commands, doesn’t always look as pretty and clean as one would think. We are human, we make mistakes, we rebel from God, we are selfish in our ways, and hateful in our thoughts. Christian life is messy. It’s broken and it’s HARD, and in our humanness, we will never live up to the perfect life that Christ set as an example for us.
But that doesn’t mean we’re excused from trying to live a Christian life like Jesus. It means we are forgiven. It means we will still strive to live like Christ, KNOWING we will always fall short of perfection.
Of course, to live like Jesus means to extend grace and forgiveness to others, as the Lord has done for us.
Unfortunately for Chris Pratt, and many of his fellow Christian brothers and sisters in the spotlight, people are quick to ignore the Truth: that he, too, is human, and he, too, is forgiven.
Most of the response to the actor’s separation was a mix of encouragement and shock. But the real judgement came when Chris Pratt accepted the title of “Choice Movie Actor” at Sunday’s Teen Choice Awards, and spoke openly from the stage about Jesus.
“I would not be here with the ease and grace I have in my heart without my Lord and savior Jesus Christ,” He said in his acceptance speech.
The Internet had a heyday with his statement, responding with criticism, and seemingly implying that his separation announcement earlier in the week excluded him from being able to claim Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Rather than praising him for invoking Jesus at a particularly difficult time, and lifting him up in prayer, people (many professed Christians) took it as an opportunity to criticize his devotion to family, and had harsh comments about his faith and integrity.
The fact of the matter is that Jesus came, lived a perfect life and died on the cross for our sins. ALL of our sins.
He also tells us that we have permission to persecute others—but ONLY if we ourselves are without sin.
We know nothing about the intimate details of Chris Pratt and Anna Faris’ marriage. All we see are small snapshots from the outside. For the most part, they seem glamorous, wonderful and #goal worthy. But the reality is that no one is perfect—even Christians. But we are called to live like Christ, and strive for perfection, knowing full-well that in our humanness, we WILL fail.
Chris Pratt speaking openly about Jesus should be an opportunity for all of us as Christians to come alongside our brother and lift him up—ESPECIALLY knowing the mountain he’s climbing right now.
I’m asking you today, as Christians, and as the body of Christ, choose grace. Choose mercy, but choose not to fall into society’s trap of condemning what is not ours to condemn.
