In the past year and a half, I figured something out. I don’t like telling people that I am a Minister. Odd as that sounds, I do have my reasons. Just about every time someone has found out that I am a Minister they quickly change their demeanor, apologize for whatever profanity they had just spoken, or just simply…treat me different. I’m not a fan of it. I don’t like people to be different just because they might offend the little minister guy who has never heard a “dirty word” ever in his life. It is almost like standing in a building and saying, “You can’t say that here…this is a Church.”
A week ago I went to a pagan banquet…no that wasn’t the theme. Basically…it was my first “non-Christian” event. Though the other people there we not Christians, let’s say that the spirits were flowing for them. One of the women at my table had informed her boyfriend that I am a Minister and wanted him to be on his best behavior. He was who he was, against her wishes, and I appreciated that. She kept apologizing for his actions and comments. I appreciated his realness. I’d rather him be who he is than to put on a fake self because of my “position.” Should he change who he is for an evening just because I am who I am?
This all started coming together in my mind as I looked back on my time working with the church in Dundee, Scotland. There were three lads I met outside of our meeting hall one day: Kyle, Peter, and Dillon. They had been opening our door and cursing God while we tried to have our Holiday Bible School (VBS). We ended up going and playing footy (soccer) with them in the park once a week for the whole summer. We never asked them to not curse around us, or to act proper around us, but by the end of the summer they had changed. Why did they change? Because they had seen how we could have a good time without all of that. Maybe they were seeing Jesus bleeding through us into their lives.
I hope that I am living my life in a way that as I get to know those who do not know Christ, they will change who they are to become more like Him, not because I have a “title” but because they see something different…something that they are missing. Maybe I need to be going out of my way a little more to build relationships with pagans…maybe a difference can be made. Maybe a relationship will be formed that might lead to talks about Jesus. Maybe…this is what we are supposed to be about?
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2 comments:
Very well put. So many Christians, I think, don't realize that more often than not, what we say does more to push people away than to draw them to Christ. It's our testimonies that will make the difference. God wants us to treat everyone in love, no matter who they are. Who are we to judge others? We are just as guilty as they are. The only difference between us and the "pagans" is that we are redeemed, through the blood of Jesus Christ, through no effort or work of our own. Thank you for writing about this, it was very encouraging to read.
You are awesome.
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