Gandhi and the Underwear Gnomes


Apparently, when the missionary Stanley Jones met with Mahatma Gandhi, he asked, "Mr. Gandhi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is it you appear to adamantly reject becoming a follower?." to which Gandhi replied, "Oh, I don't reject Christ, I love Christ.  It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ." (ref. The Knight's Templar & the Protestant Reformation by James Edward Stroud)

What a horrible commentary!

As Christ followers I believe we are called to a few things:

1) LOVE GOD - Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

2) LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF - "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.  I am the Lord." (Leviticus 19:18)

(Matthew 22:37-40)

3) SHARE THE GOSPEL - "And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ." (Philemon 1:6)

"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." (Mark 16:15)

So where do you think Gandhi believes Christians fall short?...I have an idea.

A long time ago I saw an episode of South Park.  In it, a bunch of gnomes kept stealing Cartman's underwear.  When we finally caught up to them, the gnomes were in their underground lair surrounded by mounds of underwear.  On the board, the lead gnome had written their business plan:  


My dear friends, the list at the top of this post is a progression.  You should not move on to step 3 without completing step 2.  You must LOVE your neighbor before you can preach to them, for if you do not, no amount of proselytizing will change their minds.

And STEP 2 doesn't just mean neighbor in the sense of "who lives near me".  Rather it includes the downtrodden, the marginalized, the poor, the widows, the orphans.  It includes even those who seem unlovable.  THOSE are the people Christ reached out to, and those are the neighbors He talks about.

I think maybe that's where Gandhi saw the disconnect.  As Christians we may wish to talk about our relationship with Christ - however, before that will have any impact (or even be believed) - we must first ACT like Christ.









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