Do you want to know how to be a better Christian? If you’re a true follower of Christ that wants to do whatever you can to grow your faith, you should be doing whatever you can to live the most Christian life possible.
Are you curious about what it takes to become a better Christian, and what you can do to live a truly Christian life? Read on to learn some helpful tips that can help you lead a more godly life.
Why Should I Try to Be a Better Christian?
Some of you reading this may wonder why there’s such a focus on self-improvement for Christians. After all, if you’re already saved, haven’t you already been redeemed in the eyes of God?
The apostle Peter put it best in 2 Peter 1:5-8:
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Working to improve yourself as a Christian is an important part of practicing the Christian faith.
Growth is an essential part of the Christian faith. When you work on being a better Christian, you become an example to your family, friends, and co-workers of the joys Christianity can bring to their lives.
How to Be a Better Christian: Our 8 Tips
You already go to church, you skim through your Bible every now and then, you even put something in the collection plate whenever it’s time for offering.
Some people reading this may be doing a few things that technically qualify as living a Christian life, but that doesn’t mean that they’re doing everything they can to be better Christian.
Finding more ways to connect to Christ through your faith can seem daunting. The truth is that you don’t have to do anything too drastic to be a better Christian.
Many of you are on the right track, you just need to go a little deeper to get the spiritual life you crave.
If being a better Christian is one of your goals, make sure you follow these important steps.
- Be Patient
Some Christians struggle with growth because they don’t give what they’re doing enough time to have any effect.
There are countless Bible verses that stress the importance of being patient, but it can be difficult to be patient when you’re trying to make a big change.
Some of the most important things in life can’t be done in a day. It takes 9 months to grow a baby and 18 years to mature into adulthood.
How can you expect to completely change your spiritual outlook after a week of doing something new?
Regardless of how you choose to grow into a Christian, be patient with yourself and with the way God is working to change you. Give things time to mature and grow, and you’ll find yourself much happier with your progress.
- Be Creative
Do you like to sing or play music? Have you always been interested in writing, but don’t know how to get started? Are you interested in learning how to do graphic design?
If you want to be a better Christian, don’t be afraid to get a little creative!
The Bible has a lot of creative and talented people. Whether through dancing, singing, or weaving, plenty of people found creative outlets that could help them worship God and help his followers.
If you like to sing or play music, you may decide to get involved in your church’s worship team. You could spend every Sunday helping your entire congregation come together and worship with a joyful noise!
People that are interested in writing may consider starting a Christian blog. Sharing your thoughts on Christianity and your personal experiences can be a great creative outlet.
You may also find that your words resonate with people online, and you can help people get closer to God through your words.
People that want to explore graphic design could help layout their church’s newsletter, or could make their own inspiring graphics with Christian messages to share with social media.
As you can see, you can use almost any creative outlet as a way to get closer to God. Find a way to nourish your creative spirit, and you could see your relationship with God improve.
- Let Go of Anger and Practice Empathy
Anger has become such a natural occurrence in everyday life. You may not think you’re an angry person, but when you take time to think about your day you could find that you’re holding on to a lot more negativity than you’d thought.
You’re still feeling annoyed about the driver that cut you off during your morning commute even though hours have passed.
Your spouse forgot to mention that your kid has soccer practice, and you’re mad about their forgetfulness and that you have to leave work early to pick them up.
Did you stop to think that the driver that cut you off was just as nervous about getting to work on time as you were and didn’t mean to do that?
Have you considered that your spouse has been pre-occupied with a big work project?
Did you think about all of the times your spouse didn’t forget about practice, picked up your child on time, and still came home happy to see you despite their busy day?
Practicing a little empathy for others can make an otherwise stressful day into a learning experience. Holding on to anger is one of the most unchristian things you can do.
Taking the time to forgive others and empathize with them can heal your soul, and help you get closer to God.
- Truly Read Your Bible
You may have daily devotions that you do every morning or night before bed, but how engaged in the material are you?
Don’t make reading the Bible into something as routine as brushing your teeth or taking your dog for a walk.
Reading your Bible should an intensely personal time for you to truly learn about God’s word. You’re not studying for a test or trying to complete a task, you’re taking the time to learn more about your faith.
Some people find that attending bible studies can help them read their Bible more. It may be easier to truly think about the words you’ve read when you hear different opinions and interpretations about what you’ve just learned.
Other people find that keeping a journal related to your Bible readings can help them grow.
After you finish reading a passage, take some time to write down how you feel.
You may just write a few words about your feelings, or find that spending time writing about a subject helps you connect more deeply to the source material. Either way, organizing your thoughts can make your readings more impactful.
- Attend a Different Church
Please note that we didn’t say that you have to switch to an entirely new church. You can and should still worship wherever you’d like, but going to different churches could do a lot to help your spiritual growth.
It can be easy to think that Christianity is just a cut and dry religion. The truth is that there are a variety of different sects of Christianity that can all help you grow closer to God.
Some people may find that going to a church that practices a slightly different form of Christianity can be eye-opening. Going to a Greek Orthodox service or a Baptist service can teach you something about how different Christians worship.
If you want to just spice things up, you can look into attending different specialized services that put worship in a different setting.
Do a sunrise service on a Sunday morning so you can see a breathtaking sunrise. Attend a service that has a heavy musical component so you can spend your Sunday singing and dancing for the lord.
- Get Rid of “That” Unchristian Habit
Every Christian strives to be more like Christ, but after all, we’re all human beings who can’t be perfect.
If you can find one Christian that is doing everything right in their lives, you’ve just found someone that’s good at lying. Everyone has something they struggle with, and some have more intense struggles than others.
Some people may struggle with judging others. They may find it difficult to be compassionate for people in need, even if the person in need is someone they hold dear.
Others may have more difficult sins to overcome. They may be struggling with an addiction to drugs and alcohol, find themselves in an affair, or even have something even worse they’re trying to stop.
Like we said earlier, making a big change in life will take time. If you struggle with immoral behavior you may not be able to stop everything today, but you can take the steps you need to stop in the future.
If you’re struggling with addiction make today the day you get help. Speak with your pastor, a friend or loved one, or even a doctor about your compulsions. They can give you the help you need to stop your habit for good.
People that need to stop troubling behavior may find that speaking to a therapist or pastor can help them. Sometimes having someone you can trust to talk to can do wonders for your problems.
- Talk to “That” Friend
Witnessing to others isn’t just something your pastor can do, or something you do when you’re volunteering with your church members. If you want to be a better Christian, it’s something you should do throughout your life.
Just like that one “thing” you know you should stop doing, you probably have one person you know would benefit from the gospel.
Maybe you have a close friend that’s been struggling and could really benefit from hearing the word of God. You could have a coworker you’re close with that’s talked about needing something “deeper” in their lives.
Your “friend” may not even necessarily be a “friend.” They could be a family member that you want to help.
It’s important to keep in mind that sharing the word of God doesn’t have to be like giving a sermon.
You’re not going to give your friends an intense sermon on why they need to repent before it’s too late.
You’re simply going to share a little about your faith with them, and let them know that you’re always happy to talk to them about Christ. Sometimes just having a conversation can do more good than you can ever know.
- Immerse Yourself in Christian Media
It can seem like it’s more and more difficult to see God in our day to day lives. You turn on your TV or go online and see people acting in ungodly ways. After a while, reading the news or going on social media can feel spiritually draining.
There may be a lot of unchristian content in the world, but there’s still plenty of Christian content creators that are happy to spread the word through what they make.
Media plays an important role and influential in everyone’s lives. If you find yourself surrounded by worldly messages 24/7, you shouldn’t be surprised when your connection with Christ doesn’t seem as strong.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you only listened to Christian music during the day? Instead of picking up something by a secular author, would you be willing to read a Christian book series?
Start off by picking one form of media you interact with every day and see what happens when you replace it with Christian media. See how long it takes for your outlook and spiritual health to improve!
Live Your Godly Life
If you want to know how to be a better Christian, the answer isn’t difficult. If you take time to look inward, improve yourself, and help others, you’ll be living a truly Christian life.
Are you interested in more information about self-improvement? We have a lot of helpful content on our website, be sure to browse our posts so you can find something that resonates with you.
