The Perfect Grammar Lesson

I was watching the cute dog reels on FaceBook when I came across a reel where a guy named Daryl was explaining that he is not a black Christian.

He said, “If you know anything about grammar, when you put a word in front of Christian it becomes the adjective. And the adjective informs the noun. So then the adjective is more important than the noun. So if I say I’m a black Christian, I’m telling my Christian part that my blackness comes first. That my ethnicity is more important than my allegiance to Christ. That my political affiliation is more important than Christ. No. I am a Christian, and I happen to be black; and I thank God for the skin that I’m in.”

What Daryl said is absolute truth, and the adjective is critical to the truth. More than simple grammar, what Daryl is talking about is having a Biblical worldview. We who call ourselves, “Christian” - Christ followers, are not teachers who happen to be Christian, carpenters who happen to be Christian, truckers who happen to be Christian. To be Christian means we are Christian teachers, Christian carpenters, Christian truckers, and it is Christian that informs not only what we do, but who we are, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

So how about it? Are you a teacher who is a Christian? Or are you a Christian teacher? Are you a dad who is a Christian, or are you a Christian dad? Are you a daughter who is a Christian. Or are you a Christian daughter? You get the idea. At least I hope you do. Hold firmly to the right adjective dear Christian friend.

Prayer:

Jesus, my prayer is that following you, leaning into you, will inform every action I take and every part of who I am, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I want Christian to be the adjective that informs all of me. In Jesus’ name and for your glory. Amen.