fair weather christians
We were in New York City this past week….on our honeymoon. It was great! It was great to be away….it was great to relax….it was great to be married…it was just great.
Each night when we would be walking down Broadway back to our hotel there were these nicely dressed young men yelling. The first time i was a little concerned because we are in NYC and saw a few fights and some yelling matches, but as we neared them i got more and more irritated. As we got closer i could tell what they were yelling about. They were christians…they are yelling at the top of their lungs,
- “are you tired of the alcohol?”
“are you tired of the divorce?”
“are you tired of the sex?”
they were out each night, except the night that it was raining.
which, at that point i looked at chad and said “they are the definition of a ‘fair weather christians.”
They were out yelling at me, telling me that i am going to hell…and they dont know me. I know that line sounded rather Jerry Springer, “YOU DONT KNOW ME!” but they didnt…and i wanted to make them aware of that. I didnt…but it irritates me when people write others off. you dont know. you have no idea if a person does or does not know God…you dont know where they are in their life.
They had no clue that i work at a church….that i love the LORD….that i pray….that i read my bible….that i go on missions…..they had no idea. and yet they were yelling at me and telling me i am going to hell.
I am in the midst of reading unChristian and it is rocking my world. It is challenging me in how i talk to people outside of the church. it is making me conscious of how i act and the things that i say.
Right now the church is being defined by those guys on Broadway the ones who have no idea….not by the day to day people who live and love and work hard to show that it is about the people.
Filed under: people
I had the same experience a while back when I lived in Mobile. It was embarassing to me because I was actually out with an unsaved friend and trying to talk to them about the Lord. Whenever we left the restaurant, we were yelled at my these folks standing on the corner. When I told them that I have a relationship with Jesus, they continued to follow me and yell asking me if I was sure. It was crazy!!! Where’s the love??? I would love to read that book that you are reading!
Man, that kind of stuff irks me.
What can we do? We can try to change people’s view of what a Christ-follower should look like…one person at a time.
Brad Ruggles
http://www.bradruggles.com
I dont know what we can do. all we can do is make sure that we represent Christ in the right way and pray that the other people around us are as well.