"Are you even Christian anymore?"

In my own opinion, my experience as a christian growing up was that faith was defined by actions… if I acted more "christianly" or "christian enough" than my heart had to be right with God. If I showed up on Sundays and sat through pointless lessons on things I didn't even remotely care about than absolutely I was walking the walk and living out my faith in a real way… excuse my french when I absolutely say if that is the way we are judging the point of christianity and relationship, then it is bull. If anyone would have sat down with me at sixteen years old, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen… and so on, they would have seen how far off and how misaligned my "heart" was with my creator. I knew of God, but I didn't KNOW God. 

I know of Justin Bieber… Adele… Kim Kardashian… Lady Gaga… or my personal favorite, I know of Derek Shepherd. I can tell you that before any surgery, Derek would say, "It's a great day to save lives!" or that Adele must have called a thousand times but you never seem to be home… I know that for whatever reason Kim has the worst luck with pregnancies while her sister Kourtney claims pregnancy was the best experience. I know all of these things about these people that don't have any idea who I am or who even remotely care to know my name… I know OF these people, but they wouldn't have my number saved in their iPhones (or in Kim's case, her blackberry) and they wouldn't pick up if I called. 

The same went for God… I knew of God just like I knew of these people. I knew he apparently created the world in seven days, flooded the world, caught bushes on fire, and created a son with a virgin who would eventually come to save the world. I guess you could say that I knew of Jesus too… the apparently perfect man who would save the world and die on a cross, perform hundreds of miracles, make the blind see and the sick healed… but I didn't KNOW either one of them and I didn't care to. If we want to bring this to a 21st century problem, I didn't have their numbers in my phone and I wouldn't have picked up had they called. 

I don't exactly know at what point this entire thinking shifted for me… I don't know when God became real and this idea of him caring about me settled in and took root in my life, but I know it's there. I know things have changed in the last year and that somehow I can recognize a need for God in my life and how every day I have to choose the relationship aspect of Christianity and to not get caught up in the legalistic side. I know that daily I have to choose to love… 

I say all of that with a warning that what I write next is probably not the most loving example to portray, but sometimes when others want to question my walk and my faith and judge me on things you know nothing about, for lack of a better term, I get my panties in a twist. 

I ran into an old friend that I had met back during my first year or so at Mizzou and while she was more than aware that I was not walking with Christ as an undergrad, she was always supportive, always genuine, and typically respected the views I held. While we chatted about each other's lives since we had last seen (or heard) from each other, we sat on the ledge outside and she asked me questions about, "Are you still going to church?" or "How is your walk going?" or "How is God working in your life?" The typical cheesy questions Christians ask each other with straight faces before replying with a cheesy answer that doesn't even scratch the surface. Honestly, I thought these questions was her way of genuinely caring about me and my relationship with Christ. We talked about things that were going on in both of our lives (while she smoked a cigarette) and before leaving, she asked for my email and said that she had recently read an article that she wanted me to look into. I tend to be a junkie when it comes to popular news articles and journals, so I willingly put it in her phone and we went our separate ways, only half expecting to hear from her again in the next five years. 

Last night, while I was in class, I got an email with the subject, "Are you even Christian anymore?" with an article attached with the main premise claiming that "Christian girls with class should not be prancing around in skin tight pants made for yoga." Reading this article with a straight face has got to be one of the hardest moments of my entire life… As I read, "Your body is the temple…" my mind immediately raced back to watching this friend light up the other end of the cigarette hanging out of her mouth. ARE YOU JOKING ME? I never mentioned it. I didn't care to. I didn't judge her and it never even occurred to me that her own faith may be lacking because she is a smoker. It never even crossed my mind… it absolutely blows my mind and frustrates my soul that she noticed the fact that I was wearing yoga pants while I hardly even noticed (and was certainly not bothered) that she was smoking. So my question to not just my friend but to the world is this:

Why do the clothes I choose to wear effect the way people see me as a Christian?

If we're being honest here, this isn't the first time I read this article and definitely not the first time I have ever had a conversation about yoga pants with church people… this article, which I will admit is very well written and makes valid points (especially around modesty). But if we're looking at my heart and my relationship with Christ, how does wearing yoga pants make me any less of a Christian than the person next to me? I wear yoga pants because I want to… not because it ever crosses my mind that when I put them on and walk around campus or the grocery store that some guy is going to be staring at my ass (Yes, I said ass… and yes, I am a Christian. I refuse to sugar coat this… if you want to insinuate that my walk with Christ is less than it should be because of a pair of pants I chose to wear, then I will say that word we're all thinking). 

I am a Christian and I wear yoga pants… because I don't believe either one affects the other. I mean for goodness sake, last month, Christians were all upset and outraged over a business who chose a red cup for the holiday season. A cup. Why did we become so sensitive and can it stop now? 

In many ways, I am glad that I am strong enough in my faith that the comments others make or don't make really have no impact on my walk with Christ. I know where my heart is… and let's be real, 98% of the time when I choose to slip on a pair of yoga pants, it's after a long night of cramming for an exam with my hair tied in a bun and a sweatshirt. I don't wear yoga pants typically to look cute (I usually look homeless), I wear them because they're pants and I almost don't trust those who oppose them. 

If you want to get mad at me, get mad at me that I answered the door without any pants on last month… at least I got dressed yesterday. All jokes aside, my faith is the most important aspect of my life and I will defend it… but not by tearing a part (and sending passive emails) to anyone who wears an outfit that is not "Christian enough." This isn't biblical… and it isn't okay. 

I don't wear yoga pants to church on Sundays (not that I even think that matters), but had I not known my creator like I do today, that email would have sent a very loud message that the Christian faith doesn't have room for anyone that was less than perfect. It would have told a girl, before any conversation that identified where her heart was, that she was simply not welcome based on their appearance. That will never be okay in my world. We're talking yoga pants, not drugs, not cigarettes, not alcohol… we're talking about pants, people. Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice and it is much too high of a price for you to choose who is worthy enough of that salvation. He gave his life… for you, for me, for the girl wearing yoga pants, for the girl smoking a cigarette… and for that guy who looks at my ass. He gave his life for all of us, regardless of what our sin may be… or the clothes we wear… or the person we have become. 

If you think differently than me, by all means… I will still respect you. Do me a favor and respect me as well (and the choice I will continue to make to wear yoga pants). It's nearly 2016, can we stop being overly sensitive and get back to being human?

Rant over.