What I Am Not...

One of the most problematic problems I have discovered over the past few years is how little the platitude of describing yourself as only a Christian really solves. TL;DNR: \

Skeptic: "Who are you?"
Good Christian Boy: "I am a Christian." 
Skeptic: "What does that mean?"

We need new ways to elaborate and describe ourselves, and often I have found myself describing myself in the negative. Not "oh, I am a horrible person," but more "I am not an X, Y, Z."

I know, I know... the age old piece of advice is that we are to describe things in the positive. Give people solid projections to grasp. But sometimes deduction can be so much more fun.

If I say that I am not "X," then I have successfully narrowed down what I AM. If I say that I am neither "X," "Y," or "Z," you have an even BETTER idea of who I am. Let me give you two examples:

Person A: "I like puppies, rain storms and ice cream."

Person B: "I don't like running, Jane Austen and I have never owned a cat."

Right off the bat, I have a clearer picture of person B. Maybe this is just me, and maybe it's just that I used a bad example... but to me at least this makes sense. And in a world where I am bombarded with information for a good 16 hours a day, it is useful to know what you are not and thereby establish what you are.

I am not a political savant, nor do I hate the military.

I do not hold that the entirety of the Levitical law still applies today.

I do not agree with PETA and their views... even less their advertising.

I do not hold that anyone but God has the ultimate right to end a life.

I do not believe that climate change is bad.

I do not understand Obamacare.

I do not study as often as I should.

I do not leaving my backpack at home.

I am not perfect.

I do not like sinning.

I do not know how to stop of my own accord.

I do not know how to live as I ought to.

I do not always know how to talk to God.

...and then... you are left with a few certainties: the primary one being that falling to your knees in humility is the only way to figure out what is going on.

I am finite. And therein lies the ultimate "I am not...":

I am not God... and now I know where to start.