Why Are Non-Christians Often More Moral Than Christians?

I love it when non-Christians pepper me with sincere questions about Christianity. That's what I got from Diego, 24, in a coffee shop conversation, and most of his questions had to do with the nature of morality.

Diego grew up in a non-religious family, but did attend a Christian youth group with some friends, albeit for the social aspects, not the religious. His general belief now is that the only part of himself that will exist after he dies will be the legacy he leaves, good or bad, and he hopes that God does not exist because if he does, he most certainly can't be benevolent.

In fact, it is this fear that a morally evil god exists, one who would not have his best interests at heart, which causes Diego to be cautious in the way he lives and the decisions he makes. He is afraid to make mistakes, and I told him this was in contrast to the freedom I find in believing that God is good and wants the best for His creation. I generally don't fear making mistakes in the decisions I make because, one way or another, I trust that God will guide my path.

Diego had many questions - "Do you believe Christianity is the only path to morality?" "What is the purpose of sin?" "Why does God seem to set us up for wrong choices?" "Didn't morality just evolve?" "Why would Jesus' sacrifice save us?"

Each of these questions gave me teachable moments to explain aspects of the Gospel. Here I'll focus on just one - "Why are non-Christians often more moral than Christians?"

Diego's youth group experience allowed him to see the mixed-motives of young people coming to a Christian event, open to hearing about God, yes, but also looking for a fun time socializing with their peers. Christians aren't above mixed motives in living out our faith, and God is willing to use our often self-centered motives to build His Kingdom. Think about Paul's willingness to accept insincere preachers who were only preaching out of jealousy or self-promotion.

Many non-Christians are moral because they were raised in other religions, and since all people have a God-given moral conscience, they can have a handle on teaching morality just as much as Christianity. Even non-religious people may benefit from a more positive personality or more ethical home training than Christians. "The difference" - I told Diego - "is that when one receives Christ for salvation, they also receive the Holy Spirit, influencing them from within rather than just from the outside through religion or social influence."

The Holy Spirit also helps explain the answer to another of Diego's questions - "But what if people become Christians, only to keep sinning even more because they now believe they are forgiven?" I explained how as believers we begin a process of sanctification - the process of maturing and becoming more godly over time, and how the Holy Spirit gives us the desire to stop wallowing in our sin.

Churches contain people from a wide variety of backgrounds and at different levels of maturity in their faith. In fact, the more faithful a church is to Gospel outreach, the more likely they are to have some pretty uncouth characters in their midst, and they can be particularly open to snap judgements by unbelievers looking to find fault.

I believe Diego's questions were sincere, and that in his caution and fear of an unknown god he truly is looking for a solid moral and ethical code to live by. But it can be so much more than that.

We read in 1 John 4 that "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love." A moral code motivated by the fear of God may be helpful, but how much better it is when motivated by love.

And where does that love come from? Not from a positive personality. Not from ethical home training or the influence of a works-based religion. No, that passage in 1 John continues on to tell us exactly where it comes from: "We love, because He first loved us."

Thanks, Diego, for an interesting conversation! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/M7F5vJ-uMYo on my YouTube channel.