Saturday, August 20, 2011

How, Not to be a Christian

If you are asking yourself 'What is Christianity' then you need to know what it isn't:

Step One: Assume

Yesterday I received an email from an old friend that upset me. It wasn’t what he said that upset me, rather it was what I assumed he meant, that got me all worked up.  After clarifying it with him however, it turned out that in fact, I was wrong.  I had made a series of assumptions, which turned out to be completely false. At the end of the day I was just relieved we were able to work through my assumptions, but it got me thinking.

Assumptions are the silent suicide bombs that do nothing but destroy healthy, growing relationships; either those relationships that you have with others, or the relationship you have with Jesus.  Your assumptions are simply your IDEA of what someone else is thinking, feeling or doing.

Parents often assume they know exactly what their children feel, think or want; I know I do.  Many (not all) bosses assume employees know exactly what they want when they ask for something.  Church attendees assume they know exactly what the pastor’s motives are, and Church volunteers assume they know why someone else isn’t volunteering.  All of this mind reading or assuming is very dangerous, as well as un-Christian. 

While my assumptions may be right from time to time, more often they lead to unnecessary conflict, worry, and broken relationships.  None of which is Christ like, all of which Jesus addresses in the Bible.

So today I just want to encourage you and myself to stop and think.  Instead of leaping to that assumption how about asking questions.

Some of you will. Some of you won’t.

You know why?

Because some of you are more comfortable with your assumptions.  You actually like the false reality you’ve created around you.  It serves your agenda quite nicely.

But to quote Lemony Snicket …

“Assumptions are dangerous things to make, and like all dangerous things to make - bombs, for instance, or strawberry shortcake - if you make even the tiniest mistake you can find yourself in terrible trouble.  Making assumptions simply means believing things are a certain way with little or no evidence that shows you are correct, and you can see at once how this can lead to terrible trouble.  For instance, one morning you might wake up and make the assumption that your bed was in the same place that it always was, even though you would have no real evidence that this was so.  But when you got out of your bed, you might discover that it had floated out to sea, and now you would be in terrible trouble all because of the incorrect assumption that you’d made. You can see that it is better not to make too many assumptions, particularly in the morning.”


Living Beyond Your Feelings: Controlling Emotions So They Don't Control You 

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