I’m a social person and that means that I enjoy being part of group conversations.
I’m also an avid Christian and that means that I have been left out of certain group conversations or social gatherings at the secular jobs I’ve had over the years.
The intent to exclude was clearly related to my faith in these cases and, although I would liked to have enjoyed time with the people I liked, the feeling was not mutual during these occasions.
Many of you have experienced the same.
We didn’t like it but it was the price of faith.
Most of us have suffered little for our faith, however, when compared to the record of Christian history.
We know that thousands around the world are being martyred because of their stated belief in Jesus Christ. Millions of others are being persecuted in various ways due to their faith.
And here we are not being invited to lunch with the work gang because we won’t laugh at their dirty jokes.
We have it really tough, huh?
The Apostle Paul suffered all sorts of cultural and physical persecution because he lived for Christ in an overt manner.
Even when the charges against him were completely bogus, he still suffered terrible abuse because he wore Jesus on every facet of his life.
You can read one those accounts in Acts 21:18-36.
We can’t count on people who reject the Truth of God’s Word to always tell the truth about us. And we certainly can’t expect them to treat us like their “best buddies” when our values sometimes clash with theirs.
When values clash between ourselves and those around us, let’s make sure that if anything is being trashed, it’s not our commitment to Christ but instead the invitation to “join the party” where Jesus is the last thing on the crowd’s mind.
It’s the least we can do for the One who gave the most He could for us.
As always, I love you
Martin
