A friend and I were talking recently about cussing around Christians and non-Christians and we both realized an interesting dynamic: we’re both more comfortable cussing around Christians than we are around non-Christians.
No, I did not mess up on that sentence.
You see, around other Christians especially Christian friends, we know that we won’t be judged for an occasional f-bomb – these friends know the depth and sincerity of our faith. However, when around non-Christians, we feel like we need to guard our tongue more and project a good Christian image. You know, be a good witness.
The pressure comes from what I think is an evangelistic technique gone array. We think that by not cussing (or drinking or smoking or watching R-Rated movies) others will see us and be drawn to God because of our upstanding moral character. But, isn’t it sad when we compromise our true character, however bad or ugly it may be, in order to show someone the love of God – the unconditional, unearnable, no-holds-barred love? Doesn’t this seem to be a conflicting message?
Further, I think the evangelistic landscape is changing. People used to respond to that type of “witness,” but more and more, it is not upstanding moral character that draws people to God, but genuine love, authenticity, etc – and these can only be demonstrated through who someone really is, not who they wish they were or even want to be.
What about you? Do you deal with this tension? Is yours the opposite way? How do you find the balance in between the tensions? Do you think the evangelistic landscape is changing this way, too?
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | Authenticity, Balance, Evangelism, Hypocrisy, Tension
I think some of the tension is between our christian liberty and our love for the world. we know we have liberty in christ, however, when our minds are filled with things that aren’t glorifying God, we start to become desensitized, not to the things that the mother of a 13 year old teen year old would scoff at, but to the idea that we must not love the world. And, eventually we start loving that which we partook in because of our liberty.
the tension is great. Our hearts are perpetual factories for idols (calvin) and we must always be living in the spirit, working out our salvation.
Hey Justin,
Thanks for reading and for the interaction!
I think I get what you’re saying, but the question that I would pose back to you would be, “what is the world?” What does it mean to be not-of-this-world?