It is difficult to talk with people about anything of importance. Discussions seem to be about trivial or superficial subjects. Even at that, is getting increasingly more difficult those as well.
Today, talking to one another about the weather or how much the cost of groceries have gone up can bring about an argument of epic proportions. Talking about your favorite TV show, movie, or song seem like easy topics of conversation but only if you talk about them lightly without expressing much of an opinion.
When you think about speaking of things that are of importance, that it is very easy to retreat and not say anything at all. You don’t want to offend anyone, after all.
However, today, it is almost impossible to open your mouth and say anything without offending someone somewhere. If, for instance, you talk about the weather that day, it might turn into a heated discourse on climate change theory. Better just not to go there at all.
Movies, TV shows, songs and books also can suffer a similar fate. I don’t like many modern movies or TV shows, so talking to me about them is a bit like talking to a wall. Your words will probably bounce off me and won’t mean a thing at all. To some people, your opinion would be the opposite of theirs and there are those would will take offense at what you like or don’t like about such things.
If you look around, odds are good, that you will see that where people group together, the individuals who used to speak to one another are now grouping together and then individually spending time checking out their phones and social media accounts. In the end, why bother to join a group if all you are doing is spending time by yourself?
It’s almost gotten to the point where most people would rather hole up in their homes and let the rest of the world simply fade away. That way there is no danger of offending anyone. You never know when someone who takes offense at your words, turns out to be more than slightly crazy and may threaten you or your family.
Think about how often you hear about individuals receiving death threats for things that they have done or said. For that matter, some people get death threats based on what the media has said that they have done or said when they never really said or did any such thing.
In the area of discourse, there topics of discussion which are generally avoided at all costs. Politics and religion. Well, people have deep-rooted ties to the political party or affiliation they vote for.
It used to be that people could have a fairly civil talk about politics… who am I kidding? Look back at some of the slurs that politicians cast at each other even back in the early 1800s. The thing is that more people are likely to take insane actions today. It is more than just heated discussions, it can be taking your life in your hands (or mouth.)
If talking about politics is hard to do, religion is even more difficult to talk about. That is, if you are discussing Christianity. It seems that any other religion or spiritual discussion is allowed and even sometimes promoted.
Christianity seems to have been singled out to be, at the same time, the most loved and most hated of all religions. Those who follow Christ, love that they are Christians. They will speak to other Christians (most of the time.)
Hated? Yes, the rest of the world has pretty much a hate relationship with Jesus Christ and God and, by extension, with Christians. How dare Christianity try to say that a person is a sinner? Who told them that they could decide the moral code for the world.
Many people prefer to create their own type of spiritualism. They will say they are spiritual, they don’t say they are religious. If someone says someone else is religious, that is their way of saying, essentially, that individual is nothing more than a pious hypocrite.
Actually, as a Christian, I would never say I am religious. I am a sinner who has been saved by Jesus Christ. I still struggle everyday to do what Jesus has asked us to do. I still break God’s rules (he is the one that provided the moral code for the world and not man.) The idea of saying that I am a good Christian woman is laughable. Who defines what is good? I am a sinner, the same as everyone else on this planet.
I find it hard to talk about Christ though I am learning to do so even when it makes my stomach twist in knots and I find light beads of perspiration breaking out on my forehead. Still, I try to step into a discussion when God opens a door for me to go through. I’ve learned not to ever force a discussion or even an issue. Arguing about Christianity is certainly not something Jesus told us to do.
Most Christians don’t even know how to talk to others about Jesus. That’s actually easy. All you ever have to do is tell others about something that has happened to you. No one can ever argue with you about something that you did or said. They may not like what it is but they can’t say that you didn’t say or do something when you did.
So, you talk about yourself and, if you really want to get someone’s attention, tell them about your failings and how Jesus was able to forgive you and help you.
The thing that I find most difficult and, I think, is what is the biggest stumbling block for Christ-followers, is sharing the gospel and not knowing enough about the history of my religion. It makes it almost impossible to know how to answer questions that others may have about Christianity.
This isn’t so easily dealt with. This is not about your past, it is about the Bible and what God has said and done.
To be honest, there is only one way that I am aware of for individuals to answer questions. That is to study the Bible on an on-going basis.
In the past, churches would have serious adult Bible study classes in addition to the Sunday sermons. The churches I went to, when I was younger, had these classes on Wednesday evenings. Somehow and somewhere along the line, those Bible study classes morphed into small group meetings.
Some churches call them life groups, some small groups, some even call them home groups (because they are generally held in some individual’s home.) I’ve found that these groups, again generally, talk about the sermon that was preached the Sunday before. They no longer study the books of the Bible.
I believe this change to be a huge loss. If Christians were to study the Bible intently and within a church setting (where they could ask questions of the pastors), they would be more able to answer questions about their faith. Not only for others but also questions and doubts that they themselves experience.
I tried to bring this issue to individuals in charge of such things at my church. It didn’t go anywhere. It seems it is easier to meet in those small groups and even have weekly meetings studying Christian books but not meeting to study the actual books of the Bible.
I’m not giving up, though. I will continue to ask for this at my church. It might be time for me to approach the senior pastor and ask what he thinks. Apparently, I even have problems talking about the Bible right in my own church!
Whether or not your church has serious Bible studies, let me recommend that you do your own rather than none. Get a good translation Bible with a study included in it and start there.
It is time to learn what we need to know in order to defend our faith and to be able to speak with some knowledge to others. I’ve found that in speaking to others, my own faith has grown. I’m sure that will happen to you too, if you take that big step and do as Jesus asked us to do and spread the good news of his incredible sacrifice and gift of salvation.
Matthew 28:18-20
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”