Original Post: 2013
I’m writing this blog that is meant to be kind of a follow up to the
last blog that I wrote. If you haven’t read the blog before this “Don’t Judge Me"
I would recommend you scroll down a bit and read that one before
reading this as some of the technical questions that were asked about
that blog will be answered in this blog.
A few weeks ago I was on a social network reading through my time
line and I saw a post from someone about those who celebrate Christmas.
Now this person was of another religion besides Christianity (the
specific religion isn’t relevant here) and they were basically saying
that we were ignorant for celebrating this (Christmas), we didn’t know
the history and they will continue to spread the message of their god
because (once again) we were all ignorant.They went on to say that they
did not care if this offended people as long as it won people over to
their religion. This, of course, I’m not able to quote word for word
since this happened a while ago but I thought this was an interesting
topic to eventually blog about.
I remember when I read this status I was so…offended by it. This
person may be right in that a lot of Christians may not know the history
of what this day was initially meant to celebrate but just because
someone doesn’t know 1 piece of history doesn’t necessarily mean that we
don’t know our God nor does it mean that Christianity isn’t real. As I
sat and thought about this even more, I realized that is was something
that was stirring in my heart, something that I was dwelling on and
something that was getting me from offended, to mad, to really mad.
I had a sit down with my accountability partner to try and talk
through WHY I was so mad. I KNOW without a doubt that God is real, so
why did this statement by this person made me so mad? After talking this
out she helped me to understand something about myself and religion or
faith in general. As I mentioned in many blogs before, I think God
allows us to go through certain things or to have certain experiences to
have an understanding of how He wants me to work in His Kingdom and how
to approach this work.
From a gospel point of view, I can understand their need and desire
to win people over to their faith as I’m sure they believe in their god
as much as I believe in my God. I can understand them wanting to “call
people out” in a way and realize the error of their thoughts and ways. I
can understand this because that is what we are called to do as
Christians. We are called to tell the the world about God and His love.
Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing the world as it is today and
seeing people walk away from God and live in sin. Nothing melts or
brings more joy to my heart than to see a new soul won for Christ and
thousands of people praising him. On that level I can connect with them.
I think, however, when you are attempting to introduce someone to a
faith that they are not familiar with or didn’t believe in, in the first
place, you have to be 10 times a careful and gentle about how you are
introducing that to them.
Faith is incredibly personal. I realized that I was
so upset by the way they came at my faith was because they were coming
at my God, that I serve and I love. You are trying to tell me that the
beliefs that I was raised on my entire life aren’t true. Every hard test
and trial that I have endured seemingly with Christ by my side was for
nothing and that He was never there. Every tear that I cried, He did not
wipe away. The relationship that I have whole heartedly pursued for the
past 2.5 years was non existent. His presence that I feel is not real. His still voice that I hear was made up in my head. You are trying to tell me that my Father is not my Father. Have
you ever imagined growing up with a family that you thought was your
own, just to be told years later that your parents aren’t your parents?
Can you imagine how torn that would make you feel? I imagine this
feeling is the same when witnessing to someone who is not of your faith.
As a result, you have to be kind.
Now for that person who said that those that believe in Christ are
ignorant for doing so an doesn’t care if they offend anyone as long as
they come to your faith. You should care to an extent if you offend
people. If you’re going to speak “truth” (which in most cases can come
off as offensive) at least speak it in love. There’s a difference
between speaking truth in love and speaking truth in an unkind way. The
way they approached this was not was not my perception of love and
that’s going to cause a person to shut down. After posting "Don’t Judge Me",
a reader contacted me to ask me how would I react if it was someone of a
different religion. I think the response “I will pray for your soul” is
equally as disrespectful even IF that person’s god was seemingly false.
That’s rude! Would I be praying for their soul? Of course! Would I
necessarily say it in that manner? NO. I might just say
“I’ll pray for you” or “I’m keeping you in my prayers” from time to
time, which shouldn’t pose a threat to them anyway. If they think my God
is fake then if I pray for them nothing will happen right?
I had a few take aways from this experience that I think is important
when sharing the Christian faith with someone who is not of the same
faith
1) When dealing with situations like this it’s important to tread
lightly. Do some research on their religion and have a conversation
about why they believe what they believe to see where they are coming
from. I think many of us are so eager to “switch” people over to our
belief that we jump the gun in presuming to know what that person has
been through, what they believe and why they are wrong.
2) Introduce them to the Bible and your faith and explain to them why
you believe what you believe. In most cases you’re not going to get
someone overly excited to jump onto the “Christian wagon” and leave
their faith especially if they have been deeply rooted in the practices
of that faith. Remember it’s like leaving the only family they have ever
known behind.
3) Sometimes you both will have to agree to disagree and that’s okay
too. Don’t pressure, don’t make them feel stupid by saying “your
ignorant”. Continue to cultivate a relationship with that person and let
them SEE the God in you. Your life needs to match up
with Christ and what He says in His Word. Live for Christ, seek His face
daily and they will see Him shine in you, the way He blesses you and
gives you favor. In rough times of trials they will see how your faith
helps you stand tall and they will see something truly different in you.
They will want want you have. I have a friend who is Hindu, has been
all her life. We have lots of conversations about what she believes and
why she believes and I share my faith with her many times. We agree to
disagree but respect each others faith. That has led to her feeling
comfortable with coming to church with me sometimes. She hasn’t accepted
Christ though but I love her none the less. I pray for her and I pray
that she sees the God in me and the way that I live. As I said in my
previous blog, it’s not our job to go out and save the world, that’s
God’s job. Just plant a seed in love and allow Him to water it.
I completely entertain the possibility that I could have
misunderstood where this person was coming from (in their status) or
what they were trying to say. People perceive things in different ways
and sometimes the way we place words can make the meaning misconstrued.
Trust that has happened to me plenty of times. I’m not mad or offended
anymore. I pray for them. Not in a “I pity you” way but prayer that they
will find a more effective and positive way to talk about their faith.
Maybe one day we can have a meaningful conversation. I know we as
Christians and especially myself, have a lot to learn about they way we approach people about our faith. We can be a bit reckless too (in my opinion).
Until next time….
Tasha
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