self-serving "servants" pt 1

everyone is greedy and selfish. christians are no different from others in that respect, but the expectations are higher for them, because they are claiming to follow a doctrine of selflessness, of emulation of christ, of service and love's expression to common man. people who don't strive for selflessness don't have as much to be held accountable for.
but this is not the point for which i'm reaching. what i really want to bring to attention is the lack of personal credibility. and THAT is why christians are judged. because they claim to believe things when it's convenient for them, but can bring themselves to suspend said beliefs whenever they want if it's more profitable to them. they can believe things for themselves but not for others, and yet claim to believe in a gospel that is primarily about others.
let's take a common catch-phrase example. phillipians 4:13... "i can do all things through christ who strengthens me". religious people are only too happy to spout this little nugget of "truth" whenever their own personal interests are concerned. and nothing sounds more pious than "i can beat this addiction through christ who strengthens me" or "i can overcome this obstacle through christ who strengthens me" or anything else that's all about themselves.
but this is not what is at the heart of the gospel. jesus said if you want to be great, be a servant. he said that the whole law stems out of love for god and love for your neighbor, and then defined your neighbor as a bleeding and robbed man on the side of the road who is out of your way and not part of your personal agenda, but needs your help.
here's something else from the bible, and this will perhaps add the most perspective of all. "bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of christ".
now, if we can do ALL things through christ who strengthens us, you'd think that, of all the things we could do with that strength, he'd be most willing to give us strength to do the things that directly fulfill his law. so unless we all believe that christ is too weak to fulfill his own laws, then we should most deffinitely be able to "bear one another's burdens through christ who strengthens us". but strangely, the opposite happens. a friend comes to a christian, or sometimes an entire church, broken, in need of assistance, of guidance, of hope, and the response is "sorry, i'm not strong enough to handle that right now. i have to work on myself, i can't have people like you around at the moment, i have to be around religious people so that i will be strong, you might hinder my own personal spiritual walk with christ".
when did we become so deluded as to our own importance? when did a gospel message meant to create disciples of nations become about being afraid to reach out? when did the central messages of serving humanity and regarding others higher than yourself and bearing one another's burdens turn into self-preservation (like god isn't strong enough to give us the strength we need to be safe), self-service (like every good and perfect gift isn't supposed to come frome the father of lights who knows how to give good gifts to his children) and self-denial (as though the holy spirit isn't supposed to lead us into all truth).
so what's the solution? believe something. if you claim to have a belief, stand behind it all the time, otherwise it's meaningless. faith is accorded to people as righteousness, but there are qualities that create faith, like perseverance, and consistancy, and integrity. don't just discard your beliefs when something clashes or it suits you better to believe something contrary. all that does is negate your faith. and for god's sake, if you're going to call your self a christian, remember that the first syllable of your title is CHRIST, and that your primary responsibility is to emulate him, not redefine him so that he looks more like YOU.