Check your Christian privileges

Every now and then, a discussion/thread/rant basically centered on "are we not taking this Jesus talk a bit too far?" goes viral. Sometimes it is complaints about the man preaching on the megaphone at the street corner, or the person whose social media feed is filled with only religious posts, or even the person who has adopted a conservative lifestyle due to their faith.

It is somewhat understandable when these complaints come from non-Christians, but it gets disturbing when Christians are Amen-ing to these lines of thought. It is a clear sign we have forgotten to check our privileges.

Dear Christian, in case you have forgotten:

• you belong to the ONLY people group who dare to refer to God as Father
• you belong to the ONLY people group that knows exactly what happens, and where they are going, when they die
• you belong to the ONLY people group who know that their sins have been taken care of, and paid for. Everyone else believes they have to earn their salvation through works.

That is a lot of privilege in this dark, confused world we live in.

So be considerate.

If you will not perform your Christ-given responsibility to witness and let the world know that there is a Saviour, then please leave those that will do so alone. The work of evangelism is hard enough - don't make it more complex by creating a hostile environment for those that are currently involved in it. Aim to be the voice of reason in those conversations, or simply keep silent. Better yet, get involved in expanding the net of privilege by doing the work of ministry in your own corner of the world, and letting others know about Christ. There are too many people that do not yet know the real Christ, for us to start complaining about the amount of air-time evangelism gets. 

This even extends to the general complaints about how the church is run, pastor lifestyles, and the rest. If the discussion is supposed to be about church, but it is not helping others get to know Christ, it is not worth having. It really isn't.

Hoping the tide turns on this matter. Love to all.