Call me on it...

You all know I am a Christian. I try to be a good representative for every group I am a part of. (Yes, do I know I should say "for every group of which I am a part".  But I won't.) So if you see me being a bad conservative, black man, musician, friend, father, brother, son, husband or especially Christian, (and whatever else I am) please call me on it.  I believe if I am in the ball park most of the time as a Christian it will make me better at everything else. Here are part of the guidelines that I came across for who and how I should be.

1 Peter 2
Your identity as believers
1 Therefore, get rid of all ill will and all deceit, pretense, envy, and slander.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God's own possession. You have become this people so that you may speak of the wonderful acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his amazing light.
Life as strangers in the world
11 Dear friends, since you are immigrants and strangers in the world, I urge that you avoid worldly desires that wage war against your lives.
12 Live honorably among the unbelievers. Today, they defame you, as if you were doing evil. But in the day when God visits to judge they will glorify him, because they have observed your honorable deeds.
13 For the sake of the Lord submit to every human institution. Do this whether it means submitting to the emperor as supreme ruler,
14 or to governors as those sent by the emperor. They are sent to punish those doing evil and to praise those doing good.
15 Submit to them because it's God's will that by doing good you will silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.
16 Do this as God's slaves, and yet also as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil.
17 Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Have respectful fear of God. Honor the emperor.
21 You were called to this kind of endurance, because Christ suffered on your behalf. He left you an example so that you might follow in his footsteps.
22 He committed no sin, nor did he ever speak in ways meant to deceive.
23When he was insulted, he did not reply with insults. When he suffered, he did not threaten revenge. Instead, he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
24 He carried in his own body on the cross the sins we committed. He did this so that we might live in righteousness, having nothing to do with sin. By his wounds you were healed.
25 Though you were like straying sheep, you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your lives.

1 Peter 3

7 The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God's grace, you're equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don't run aground. Suffering for Doing Good
8 Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble.
9 That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless - that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing.
10 Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here's what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful;
11 Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth.
12 God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he's asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things.
13 If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped?
14 Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought.
15 Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.
16 Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath.
17 It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad.
18 That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all - was put to death and then made alive - to bring us to God.


1 Peter 4
1 Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way.2Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.

8 Most of all, love one another deeply. Love erases many sins by forgiving them.
9 Welcome others into your homes without complaining.
10 God's gifts of grace come in many forms. Each of you has received a gift in order to serve others. You should use it faithfully.
11 If you speak, you should do it like one speaking God's very words. If you serve, you should do it with the strength God provides. Then in all things God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Give him the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Suffering for Being a Christian
12 Dear friends, don't be surprised by the painful suffering you are going through. Don't feel as if something strange were happening to you.
13 Be joyful that you are taking part in Christ's sufferings. Then you will be filled with joy when Christ returns in glory.
14 Suppose people make fun of you because you believe in Christ. Then you are blessed, because God's Spirit rests on you. He is the Spirit of glory.
15 Suppose you suffer. Then it shouldn't be because you are a murderer or a thief. It shouldn't be because you do evil things. It shouldn't be because you poke your nose into other people's business.
16 But suppose you suffer for being a Christian. Then don't be ashamed. Instead, praise God because you are known by that name.
17 It is time for people to be judged. It will begin with the family of God. And since it begins with us, what will happen to people who don't obey God's good news?

1 Peter 5
5 Young men, follow the lead of those who are older. All of you, put on a spirit that is free of pride toward each other as if it were your clothes. Scripture says, "God opposes those who are proud. But he gives grace to those who are not." #1(Proverbs 3:34)#2
6 So don't be proud. Put yourselves under God's mighty hand. Then he will honor you at the right time.
7 Turn all your worries over to him. He cares about you.
8 Control yourselves. Be on your guard. Your enemy the devil is like a roaring lion. He prowls around looking for someone to chew up and swallow.
9 Stand up to him. Stand firm in what you believe. All over the world you know that your brothers and sisters are going through the same kind of suffering.

This is not everything, but it its what I where I am studying right now.
I am working on it so please be gentle. But DO call me on it.