Who are We?

I was sitting in my favorite Chinese restaurant last week when a prominent minister showed up on CNN. He was being interviewed because he allowed a Senator to speak at an aids conference being held by this minister’s church. It was just another sound bite until I heard the minister say about this leader, “He is a man of good character!” That statement really sent me spinning. What? This Senator is known for supporting and enacting many things that are against Christianity and even the Bible. Sure this Senator is popular, but how does this pastor know that “He is a man of good character!” The truth is he does not know. Only God knows fully the hearts of men and women and it takes us allot time to fully know a person. I live by a two year rule. If you know someone for at least two years you will just then have gone through enough life situations to get a good picture of their character. Why two years? During that time you will be around them as they express, experience and digress things like victory and defeat, loss and success, rejection and hate along with love and acceptance. You will see them act alone and in full view of the public. You will see how they treat those they say they love the most, you will see where they spend their money, and you will see if what they say matches up to what they do.

Maybe we are so wrapped in this world that we have lost the ingredients of a Christian and we just use the term. Maybe we are the Pharisees of our day, maybe we are not really Christians anymore! Since we so willingly align ourselves with people that oppose the things of God and do it in the name of collaboration, maybe we have crossed the line. Maybe we are just using the power of persuasion, rather than surrendering ourselves to the power of God to reach our worlds. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we need to take God’s light to the world and we need to connect with those like this Senator. But who’s leading who?

Just a thought!