5 Christian Things I Don’t Do

Christians are supposed to be set apart for God. We draw closer to Him and move away from the world. That is a natural part of sanctification, and we should expect all Christians to display this pattern in their lives. However, it looks different in each person’s life, and there is room for some gray area. Have you noticed, though, that there are some extrabiblical habits and behaviors that seem to be expected for believers? Well, I’m here to confess that I don’t always do what’s expected. Let me share five Christian things I don’t do.

Which Christian Things And Why Not Do Them?

I admit it. I’m being a little tongue in cheek when I say, “Christian things.” Some of them are, in fact, Christian, or they’re at least Christian adjacent. Some of the other things on the list have been adopted as Christian, but they have more to do with Christian culture rather than living out a strong and healthy Christian walk.

If any of the things on my list apply to you, please understand I’m not claiming anything on the list in inherently sinful or bad. I’m just sharing what I don’t do because we can get ourselves worked up over things that don’t say a whole lot about our faith. Unfortunately, we are either told directly or indirectly that good Christians who are serious about Jesus do these.

The list I share will include things that conservative Christians insist upon, but you’ll also find a couple of things that moderate to liberal believers have turned into Christian things. All right. Are you ready to gauge my Christian walk according to what I don’t do? Great! Let’s do this.

Christian Things I Don’t Do

Christian Things I Don’t Do #1: Regular Morning Time With God

Yes, I started off with a controversial topic.

As soon as I began attending a legalistic church, I was constantly bombarded with the message: You must start your day in the Bible and with prayer. If you didn’t, people looked at you differently. Unsurprisingly, those of us who struggled with this habit kept it a secret. Some of us found safe people to confess to about this tragic shortcoming. I mean, could I even be saved if my mornings didn’t look like my pastor’s Christian ideal? (Be advised. That was sarcasm.)

Women in the nursery would share how they struggled with a consistent morning routine, and their shame and embarrassment was palpable. They felt like failures in this area and were desperate to improve. What a heavy burden to carry!

I Don’t Sweat It

Hear me out. Prayer and time in the Bible is good any time of the day. A woman who waits until after breakfast, cracks open the Bible in the middle of the afternoon, or settles in right before bed with the Word of God is doing just fine.

I have had quiet time with the Lord at all times of day and night. Life happens, you know? I see the wisdom of starting your day off with time in the Word and in prayer, but sometimes I’m more likely to lose my train of thought or fall back asleep. The Christian walk doesn’t necessarily mean “morning person.”

The key is to prioritize time with the Lord. Maybe morning is a short prayer and literally a verse or two from Proverbs. That’s fine. Perhaps your day starts with a diaper blowout at 4:30 A.M., an emergency baby bath, and subsequent unplanned feeding. Other than a pleading prayer under your breath, quiet time with God may not happen that morning.

Give yourself grace. You’re not a bad Christian because your alone time with God happens when it works for you. Morning isn’t the only time He hears you, speaks through His Word, and accepts your worship. Just don’t neglect time with Him…whenever it can happen.

Christian Things I Don’t Do #2: Only Consume “Christian” Media

Music, movies, books, and television are getting worse. You have to be blind to miss the transgender, anti-male, and hypersexualized agendas in essentially everything, even kids’ programming. So, it’s only natural for a Christian to pull away from these things. On the other hand, we shouldn’t treat media as a black and white issue. Said another way, we don’t have to be all in on “Christian” media and abstain from all secular media.

So much of this has to do with conviction. If you can’t watch Star Wars or Lord of the Rings because you are convinced within yourself that it would be wrong to do so, then you absolutely should not watch those films. However, some of us are quite settled on the appropriateness of them. There’s a lot of gray here.

Not Everything That Says Christian Is Christian

The hard part concerning media is knowing what crosses that invisible line. That’s probably why some believers will only engage with media labeled “Christian.” Be diligent with this, though, because plenty of “Christian” movies and shows have terrible theology. The same can be said for books and music. Sprinkling some Bible verses or the name Jesus on something doesn’t make it Christian.

One more thing to consider is how serious you are about content being completely Christian.” Think of The Chosen. Christians are over the moon about this show, but they ignore some potential red flags. Other than the questionable fictionalizations that pop up now and then, the people involved are largely not born-again Christians. The man playing Jesus, Jonathan Roumie, is Catholic. He, and the entire cast and creator, Dallas Jenkins, have also partnered with Hallow. It markets itself as the “#1 Catholic prayer and meditation app.” Dallas Jenkins also refuses to acknowledge that Mormons cannot be biblically categorized as Christians. Finally, the crew on The Chosen was free to display their gay pride flags on the set, creating a decidedly LGBT friendly environment.

Perhaps none of this bothers you. I’m not making an argument that it should or shouldn’t, but depending on you convictions, these facts may make The Chosen more inappropriate for you to watch than Batman, Funny Girl, or Dune because something marketed as Christian is obviously influenced by and enmeshed in unbiblical beliefs and theology. Be consistent and don’t fall for a Christian label. Remember, you’re just a demographic for media content creators to reach. They’ll say anything to get you to watch, listen, or read what they’ve made.

An Absolute Pass

Outside of the Christian label, there are plenty of options. Many of these range from appropriate to needing a serious amount of discernment. But let’s not kid ourselves about it. Some things should never come before our eyes or enter our ears. Pornography is the obvious one. Right? If it’s not obvious, then we have a completely separate topic to discuss. Erotica novels also fall into this category, by the way, ladies.

What else? Well, what about excessive foul language? Blasphemy? Rape depictions? Gore? Gratuitous violence? How do we decide? Philippians sums up the best approach well, and it sets the bar really high.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Philippians 4:8

If what you’re watching, listening to, or reading violates this principle, examine that media content a little more closely. Ultimately, it’s up to you, but don’t let your FOMO (fear of missing out) or fleshly appetite for something dictate your choices.

Christian Things I Don’t Do #3: Make My Faith A Photo Op

I’ve done it. You’ve done it. We place our Bible next to a cup of coffee, some flowers, and a notepad *just so* on our table and then click. We take the photograph, but who is it for?

That carefully taken photo is meant for social media. Whether it be Instagram, Facebook, or whatever the kids are using these days, that picture is evidence of a tremendously spiritual person. Of course, many of us aren’t thinking that as we share it, but it’s often the reason deep inside our hearts for the photo op.

Really, for what other reason would anyone share this kind of photo from their Bible time?

Image courtesy of Meghan Mosser via Unsplash.

We can see this with missions trips, too. At some point we have to ask ourselves, why did that person serve on that trip? For ministry or to be perceived a particular way? Did that Christian need to share photos of herself giving shoes to that orphan? (Probably not.)

Is It Sin?

If you take photos of yourself in your day-to-day Christian comings and goings, I’m not suggesting you’re in sin. However, I’d urge you to consider if you would volunteer and study God’s Word so much if you didn’t have an audience. This is 100% a check-your-heart issue. As for me, I’d rather not come across like I’m trying to be “super spiritual,” and I want to keep myself out of God’s spotlight. That’s a struggle if I’m always looking for the next photo op featuring none other than me.

Christian Things I Don’t Do #4: Keep Myself (And Kids) In The Dark About The World

The world is distressing. Just this week, a driver plowed through a crowd of people celebrating the new year in New Orleans. As I’m writing this, reports are estimating ten dead and thirty-five injured. What a way to start 2025…

I don’t necessarily want to know about all the wicked and disturbing things going on in the world. In fact, if I think about those things too much, it can become overwhelming. It’s too much to process sometimes.

But then I remember God isn’t surprised by anything happening in the world. And not just that, but He also loves us so much He sent Jesus to die for our sins (John 3:16). All of the crazy things going on here are simply the symptoms of a sin-sick world, and they are temporary.

I might sound like I’m advocating for Christians to ignore the world’s woes and to shield my children from it. I mean, if it’s only temporary, then why bother facing it? Sticking our heads in the sand and pretending nothing is going on outside of our Christian circles is tempting, but how does that help anyone but ourselves? Knowing the troubles of this world helps us pray better, minister to others more effectively, vote with understanding, and allow our children to enter adulthood with a firm grasp of the reality in which we live. Willful ignorance is nothing more than a selfish desire to protect ourselves from the truth about our world or ignorance to the importance of the information. Well, now you know it’s important…

Christian Things I Don’t Do #5: Jump On Celebrity Conversion Bandwagons

I remember how thrilled my church was when I got saved. My salvation seemed to give an automatic dose of encouragement and enthusiasm to everyone there, and I think I understand why now. Seeing the Lord work in someone’s life and knowing she’s been spared the consequence of sin is wonderful.

On the other hand, fellow believers shouldn’t just walk away saying, “mission accomplished.” Discipleship is essential. I’m thankful I was discipled, but that’s not always the case when somebody professes Christ. Sadly, some people confess Christ and don’t mature because they were never taught how to study God’s Word. Others make a false profession, but they assume they are saved because nobody came alongside them to show them the true path to salvation given in the Bible. That is, nothing saves but Jesus Christ.

Accepting Celebrity Conversions

We see similar issues with celebrity conversions. Do you remember when Kanye West said he became a Christian? He had tons of press coverage, released a Christian album, and it seemed like he was sincere. Although some of us sat back quietly and waited for him to demonstrate spiritual growth, many Christians immediately jumped on the bandwagon. Suddenly, Kanye West was a Christian role model, holding church services, and an example of God’s power in witnessing encounters.

Do you remember this amazing plane ride with James Corden?

Like many celebrity converts before and after this performance, Kanye West slipped away from the appearance of Christianity. Now, he is back to a general state of odd and hedonistic behavior. After his divorce from Kim Kardashian, he began dating and eventually married a woman who looks strikingly similar to Kardashian. He parades around with her in “clothing” that leaves her in what one can only call a state of undress. Her outfits are so revealing, I couldn’t find one photograph that I could share here. Additionally, West and his wife were even banned from a gondola company in Venice, Italy for publicly engaging in a sexual act on while on a gondola ride.

So, is Kanye West saved? We don’t know his heart. I certainly couldn’t definitively say one way or another, but a true believer displays fruit. Kanye has only moved further away from a biblical lifestyle, and all those Christians who asserted Kanye was a beautiful example of God’s redemptive power look foolish. And those Christians have made our God look foolish, too.

Celebrities can get saved, and we should rejoice when that happens. Let’s rejoice privately, though, and spend our energy praying for them rather than putting them on a pedestal. As with any conversion, we should wait and not offer assurances of someone’s spiritual condition. This is especially true of those we don’t know personally.

Final Thought

Christians are multi-faceted people, and everyone is unique. We can agree on this until someone breaks an unwritten rule for how Christians should live. Too often, we get stuck on minor things that have no salvific significance. We ought to offer grace rather than create laws for other Christians’ lives.

So, if you have quiet time with God in the afternoon, consume secular media, live out your Christian life without a camera, keep up-to-date with what’s happening in the world (even the dark stuff), or essentially ignore celebrity conversions, just know that you’re not stepping off the Christian path. It might be popular among believers to do the opposite of you, but popular isn’t always best.

Do you do anything on this list? Are there other “Christian” things you don’t do?

Image courtesy of Lillian Dibbern via Unsplash.