Just How Selfish Are We?

I was conversing with a brother in Korea this week & he lamented over the thought that Christians in Korea seemed to be a lot like Christians in America. To put it bluntly, he said that it seems as though we are ?social morons,? spending time with each other (Christians), patting each other on the back and generally avoiding ?the world.? We don?t look for opportunities to share our faith with non-Christians. We don?t want to touch a non-Christian with a ?ten-foot-pole.?

Lately, I too see Christians ?surrounding the wagons? and shutting out the very people that need the Word. Here?s how I see it. Generally, people are conformist. Most people are content to conform to their surroundings and to the people they hang out with. Part of that conformation process is to feel the need to not "offend" someone with our beliefs. Non-Christians don't seem to have a problem offending us when they share their beliefs, or lack thereof. As Christians, we should have our minds transformed to the image of Christ to the degree that conformation is not possible.

(Side-bar; not a part of my conversation with Min. Lee) By the way, our youth needs to think about that concept of conforming. Well, at least they ARE sharing things with non-Christian youth. They are conforming to the ?world?s? way of acting, dressing & talking. These days you can?t tell a Christian youth from a non-Christian youth. Now don?t give me that old line that they need to act and dress that way to avoid being singled out and are just trying to ?fit in? so that they can witness; the only witness I see is pregnancies and droopy pants. Who?s witnessing to whom? (End of my personal tirade)

Most Christians think that reaching out to the lost is a special ministry gift that only the pastor or "evangelist" has and are content to let them run with that ball. As long as they go to church when they should, give a few of their dollars to help out and are "good" people, their "Christian" responsibility ends there.

?Forget about those people walking toward the cliff?, they say, ?I don't want to "offend" them by telling them what they should already know. I?m sure they can see the cliff coming up even if their vision is clouded with the ?cares of this world.? I'm not going to be the one to tell them that they are walking a path of destruction.?

Sad, but true, we are a selfish lot.