Last week I was placed in a situation where there was a conversation about the differences between Baptists and Jehovah's Witnesses. One of the guys involved in the conversation wanted to know the differences between his religion (Southern Baptist) and what Jehovah's Witnesses believe. Unfortunately, he snickered at my coworker's response and, noticeably, made her feel uncomfortable. Sadly, some of his beliefs were no where near what I (I am Southern Baptist as well) consider true to Southern Baptist belief, much less my Christian faith. Even worse, I confess that I was embarrassed to consider him my brother in Christ. I attempted to explain some things the way that I have come to understand them but, sensing that the conversation was helping no one, I decided to leave. For awhile, I could think of nothing less than the insensitive man's remarks.
The next day at work, I apologized to the Jehovah's Witness and said that I hoped she didn't feel uncomfortable or pressured by the two of us. She agreed that she had been annoyed by the man's actions. She knows that I am a Christian and I told her that I would love to talk with her more about what she believes. She invited me to their Easter service, which I plan to attend (please pray!).
With that said, I've been convicted about a few things. (The sketch to the right symbolizes God chipping away at my rough surface...there's a diamond in this Christian somewhere!) First, even though I am a Baptist, I consider myself first and foremost a Christian and a child of God. I never want to find myself defending my religion more than my God. Second, I must admit that I was very frustrated with the man's demeanor towards the entire situation. However, I have come to realize that I am not his judge. He was, after all, the one that started the conversation. When was the last time I started a conversation in the hopes of spreading a seed and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through me? Unlike Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslims and other faiths, Christians often shy away from sharing their faith, often to avoid confrontation or being offensive...and often because we don't believe that the Holy Spirit will speak through us. Tonight at church Preacher David talked about Romans 8:30 and how we will never be "glorified" unless we suffer with Jesus and take a stand for Him. Fortunately for those of us who wish to be glorified, the world we live in offers us plenty of ways to suffer (Is "under God" still cited in your elementary school's Pledge of Allegiance?) if we are willing to fight (2 Timothy 1:7 - a verse I found that has helped me greatly). So, you may ask, does God want us to be tactful or offensive when sharing about Him? Well, lucky for us, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. Unlike myself, Jesus knew just what to say and when to say it. He knew when to be offensive and when to be loving. The Pharisees, who liked to put on a show in the name of religion, weren't big fans of Jesus and his heretical, offensive parables, but the woman at the well sure loved His kind, direct approach.
I pray that God would use me in the life of my coworker and that He would teach me to be tactful, sincere and open while sharing about Him. Also, I pray that I would be more devoted to knowing the Truth by reading God's Word more diligently and by being more willing to learn how to defend my faith (not religion) against others.
When's the last time you shared with someone how they can be saved?
