Your Date with the World

Imagine the following date:

Charley doesn’t really like Sara very much. He has said so on many occasions to anyone who would listen. This dislike has led him to spend a great deal of time to find reasons to defend his dislike. He even went so far as to write an editorial complaining about the annoying way she sucks her teeth in public.

One night, Charley shows up on Sara’s doorstep with a book in hand. The book is entitled 100 Things Sara Needs To Change To Become A True Human Being. He rings the doorbell.

When Sara answers the door, he shoves the book at her startled face and declares, “I’ve decided it would be best for you if we date. When you finish reading this, I’ll be waiting in my truck.”

Or perhaps we can look at Sam’s love life.

He is attracted to Cheryl, but he has never gotten up the nerve to tell her. After all, who knows how she might react? She might laugh in his face and tell him to get lost. She could suddenly sprout fangs and, with a voice of sulfur laced sarcasm, tell everyone else what a pathetic worm he is. Or worse yet, she might say nothing, confirming once and for all his worst fear that he is not worthy of even the slightest notice. But even though he is held back by fear, he continues to dream.

Finally, the dream is too much. He has to act. He has already rehearsed her every objection. He has prepared a series of witty responses. But he still can’t risk facing her. He might lose his nerve. So, late at night, he stands in Cheryl’s front yard and yells up to her second floor window all the reasons that she would be stupid not to love him.

So why the voyeuristic glimpse into these two dates gone wrong? Because they resemble a great deal of modern Christian evangelism. In many cases preChristians are made to feel like undesirable irritants that need to be dealt with a lot like mosquitos. No one wants to be treated like pests. Far too much Christian media is aimed at making Christians feel good about themselves by slamming anyone who disagrees, making them look silly, stupid, or evil. This is the especially seen in talk radio in most of its manifestations. This attitude is a poison for the soul, far from the example and attitude of Jesus, and should be avoided.

The second example reflects a growing fear that many Christians have of preChristians. Jesus has planted a love in us for those far from him, but we have let irrational fears planted by the enemy grow in us. These fears distort our neighbors in our eyes. We begin to believe that they will respond like monsters at the mere mention of Jesus. Our comfort and reputation clash with the love of God. The tension can lead us to explode in inappropriate, and often very distant and impersonal, blasts of communication.

Evangelism is central to the call of Christ. I'll examine that in the next blog. But evangelism does not have to come in the form of harsh "turn or burn" diatribes. In fact it shouldn't. Our communication of Christ's love should actually reflect Christ's love. We should be working on our dating habits.