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| Abi let's her light shine on the 4th of July. |
This from Bill:
I wanted to share some thoughts that ran through my head this morning as I read the Bible. The following verse jumped out at me (don't worry, I'll translate it):
2 Cor.
6:14 No se asocien íntimamente con los que son incrédulos.
There is a small conflict between
the concepts of reaching the lost through friendship and becoming the lost
through friendship. 2 Cor. 6:14, in the NIV reads, “Do not be yoked together
with unbelievers.” It is often used in counseling couples against an
interfaith marriage (especially given the marital meaning of intimacy). But, it has also been used more generally, as in the example of entering into a business partnership
with an unscrupulous partner. The Message
(by Eugene Peterson) phrases verses 14 and 15 this way, “Don’t become
partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right
and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark?
Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands?” The
interfaith marriage or unscrupulous business partner are very real and
appropriate warnings which can be taken from this verse. The NTV (the Spanish
translation quoted above) jumped out at me as I was reading it. My
translation of the NTV sounds like this: "Don't have an intimate
association with those who are incredulous (that is, with those who are
critical of the faith)."
Hanging out with people who reject
you is painful. As such, some Christians try to hide what they think, feel or
believe about many topics, in order to avoid the ire of their so called
friends. I say, "so called friends," because I don't believe it is
possible to have a real friendship with someone who views the philosophical foundations
of your life as foolish or stupid. To pull that off, one would have to be a
hypocrite—either not saying what he/she really believes or not really believing
it. The Message’s phrasing of verse
15 sums it up well, “How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong?
That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does
Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands?”
It is hard for an honest person
to be friends with dishonest thieves. The latter keep stealing from the former,
then laughing at him for his gullible foolishness. It's possible to be an
acquaintance with theives, but you have to keep your doors locked. As the NTV
puts it, one can’t "associate intimately" with such people. An
intimate friendship, in this case, is speaking about much more than mere acquaintanceship;
rather, it's about opening up one's life, living without barriers, unlocking
the doors. The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary supports this, stating, "Paul
has just appealed to the Corinthians for mutual openness in affection and in
speech. His own heart is open wide to them, but both he and they know why they
cannot reciprocate as fully as they ought. Some of them have an uneasy
conscience about their continuing pagan associations.”
Real friendship requires
reciprocal trust and respect. Real friends let their guards down and value one
another. It is possible to be friends with somone who disagrees with your
faith, as long as that person values who you are and respects you. But, if that
person is opposed to your faith (incredulous), such that he/she speaks ill of
it and anyone who adheres to it, then you cannot be real friends with that
person--unless you are a glutton for punishment or hide what you believe.
The
latter is the option that many Christians take. They live and speak like people
in the world, in order to reach those in the world. It is analogous to becoming
darkness to reach people living in darkness or to putting a basket over a
candle. The latter example is rather funny, since it is nonsensical (you don’t
light a light and then obscure it). But it goes beyond nonsensical to
dangerous, since the basket will either snuff out the flame or the flame will
set fire to the basket. In Luke 8:16, Jesus says, “No one lights a lamp and hides
it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that
those who come in can see the light.” The bed statement would have been ridiculously
obvious to Christ’s listeners, since beds were predominantly made out of straw.
So, not only would the light not shine, it could end up burning down the entire
house. That’s the danger of trying to hide the light within. If one tries to
snuff-out or obscure the fire within, it will only come to a tragic end. It
is also, as the verse points out, incongruent. Obviously, if one is trying to reach those in
darkeness, at some point one needs to turn the light on. When that happens, a
few will be grateful, but the majority will find that it hurts
their eyes and they'll blame the light-bearer for their pain. In John 3:19-21,
Jesus said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved
darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil
hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will
be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may
be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (NIV)”
In
other words, “Ouch!” They are going to cover their eyes, scream that you are
hurthing them, then blame you. In fact, those who dislike the light will eventually
go beyond blaming to accusing. In Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus said, “Blessed are you
when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who
were before you. (NIV)”
It is really hard to rejoice when people persecute you and “falsely
saying all kinds of evil against you,” but according to Jesus (and I think He
can be trusted on this subject), it’ll be worth it.
Today,
those who have a strong opinion that is opposed to the politically correct
teachings of the world (especially the part of the world that is located in Hollywood, California),
are declared to be intollerant and irrelevant. As such, many Christians stray
away from such topics in an attempt to win their friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately (as detailed above), it is a failed methodology. It’ll destroy
you. You can’t squash what you are in order to win others to what you are. That's nonsensical and dangerous. When
you put on a mask in order to suppress what you really believe, you endanger
your very being and may become that which you emulate.
I’m not
saying that we can’t be acquaintances with people who do not share our faith.
We have to be. Who else is going to tell them the truth? (See 1 Cor. 5:9-13) But, there is a big difference between an acquaintance and an intimate
friend.
It
is important for us to take heed of Paul’s advice against being “unequally
yoked,” or (as the NTV puts it) having an intimate association with those who
are incredulous. We cannot hide the truth in order to make it known. In our attempts to reach the lost, we don’t want to become them.
