Dropping an "H-Bomb"

Today I was out picking up a few things and came upon a fender bender in the parking lot of a Home Depot. It looked as though a car had pulled out of a space and was struck by a pickup truck from a business called "Fore Sight"... oh, the irony.

It made me think of how when we "advertise" something we believe, it gives everyone a chance to take a shot at you without knowing you.

As a follower of Christ, my belief system has been advertised for the last 2000 years or so. Plenty of time for anyone who might like, to absorb, assess, and take a shot at someone who says they are Christian.

The worst part of that is, after identifying you with Jesus, they feel they have license to hassle you whether or not your life lines up with what they know about the Bible. If your life does line up with scripture, you can be labeled as intolerant, or prudish, or weak and foolish. However, if your life doesn't line up, you are no safer, as then you’re, in their eyes, the worst of the worst... a hypocrite.

My problem with all of that is, the reason they can label any Christian "hypocrite" is that they know ahead of time (thanks to advertising) what we are supposed "believe" and therefore "live". Most of the behaviors we exhibit aren't what we get maligned for; it's that we don't do what we say we believe.

I should add, that is truer than I care to admit, even in my own life. However, the fact of the matter is that those who enjoy dropping an "H-Bomb" are conveniently immune to hypocrisy simply because we cannot see any "advertising" for their beliefs. Plus, even if we could, they have liberty to change what they believe and call it "growth" or "enlightenment". So, they are never hypocritical.

Okay, so this is a pet peeve of mine. (Peeve is a funny word isn't it?) But, it is a drag to not be recognized for trying to do the right thing but stumbling, as opposed to not trying at all, or changing course every time something becomes too difficult, less interesting, or too inconvenient.

With that said, we must always do what we can to understand others that might see us this way, and to seek to be understood. It is a two way conversation that leads to the unity that Jesus spoke of when he prayed in John 17:20-23. Perhaps we can avoid future fender benders.


C

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