A few people have asked questions regarding what I said about laughing at people who are flaunting and recruiting people to their sinful lifestyles. You can see that post here.
One question was, “How should I react when I go into a coffeeshop and see a fellow all dressed up like a woman, sitting reading a book? He isn’t bothering anyone. He’s just sitting and reading. To point at him and to laugh at him just seems rude. It also doesn’t seem like the kind of reaction Jesus would have had.”
The other comment was, “Nate Wilson told a story where two women at a crosswalk recognized him and decided to kiss each other to offend him. He just said to them, ‘Keep trying!’ He didn’t make a scene, try to edify bystanders, or do anything uncalled-for. I wonder if this example is the kind of cheerful Wilson “fighting” that Pastor Wilson was talking about.”
Here’s what I think. This whole thing requires a lot of wisdom. There are several different things going on here. You have people who don’t know any better, just trying to get along in a crazy world, a world they are caught up in—the guy in the coffee shop. Then you have the ladies in the street who are just as clueless as the fellow in the coffee shop, who are feeling ashamed of what they are doing, but react to that shame and guilt by flaunting their sinfulness. Finally, you have the fellow in the library, who is dressed like a woman in order to recruit people to accept or join him in his sinfulness.
Besides different situations, there are several different responses that might be offered. I gave one possible response for the person who is recruiting people to join him in his sin. Besides him recruiting…’Recruiting’ sounds pretty tame and almost “nice.” What he is really doing is being a predator. He is looking for people to devour, to drag down into the hole he just climbed out of. Some people might be offended by this representation, but the Bible is very clear and extreme about what is going on when someone causes othersto sin,
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea (Mt 18:6).
He’s equally strong when he talks about things that cause usto sin,
If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell(Mt 5:29–30).
Jesus doesn’t take this kind of thing lightly. And neither should we. And, I submit that our response to those who are tearing us apart is often not taken from Scripture, but from the world around us. We don’t read our Bibles and when we do, we don’t believe and obey them.
So, if you meet someone who is recruiting you to join them in their sinfulness, inviting to participate in their vile evil, causing you to sin by thinking like they think, acting like they act, or feeling like they feel, you may need to do something as strong or stronger than pointing and laughing. I just said that as a starting point, and for little kids. What they are doing is really evil. It is nefarious, vile, an God thinks of the whole thing as an abomination (Pro 15:9).
But what about the fellow sitting in the coffee shop, minding his own business? From the question, it doesn’t appear that he is doing any recruiting or sharing or roaring around. He’s just sitting there sinning up a storm, all by himself. He isn’t a predator. In fact, he’s a victim of sin; in bondage to his sin. He isn’t recruiting, he’s just living out the life he’s chosen to live. So, I would say you should treat him like you would treat any other sinful person who is actively sinning right in front of you.
Here are a few suggestions: First, we can be more intentional about how we go about our daily and public lives. We don’t usually get caught up in simply going places and being places. We just go to the coffee shop for coffee and a nice read, or to listen to some music, or to visit friends. But what if we remembered that we are in a war zone, fighting a fight, trying to win battles and a war? We need to remember that this is serious stuff. Life and death. Heaven and eternal damnation. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t drink coffee or sit with friends or listen to music. I’m just wondering if that’s all God has for us when we go places and do things.
There are a lot of folks who are reading this who are doing the Bible Reading Challenge. What if when we read our Bibles, we read it with the thought in mind that what we’re really doing is dressing up to go to war? What if we read, not to check the boxes, but to find out how to think about God, Jesus, the Word of God, the Gospel in a way that will change our lives so that when we join the battle we will fight effectually? What if we read knowing that in order to fight well, we need to be fit soldiers and we need to know how to handle our equipment effectively? That’s what I mean by intentional. We should study the word of God to be ready to fight. We should think about the fight. We should have a plan for when the fight starts, continues, and ends. We should know we’re in it and we’re ready to go for it. It is a grand adventure that God has us on and we’re thrilled that he wants to use us.
I’m not talking about fist fight, or a bar brawl. I’m talking about representing Christ to a fallen world in a winsome, attractive, joyful, and delightful way.
So, here’s how I think it should work. We read our Bible with a view to putting on well trained armor. We ask God to transform us into people who look like, walk like, talk like, and think like Jesus. We ask him to make us accurate and clear reflectors. We also ask God to give us a good time at the coffee shop with our friends or whatever is taking us there. And we ask that we would be able to talk to someone about Jesus tonight.
Then we go to the coffee shop.
We walk in the door and there’s a guy dressed in women’s clothing, drinking his latte, reading a book. We’re ready for action, so when he looks up, we catch his eye and give him a friendly “hello.” And we pray for him, asking God to send someone into his life who can give him a good presentation of the Gospel so that he can be saved. We add that it would be really great if he would let us be that person.
Then, we listen to our music, read our
We were friendly, gracious, kind, represented Jesus well and accurately. No one was embarrassed, if the fellow knew we were Christian, his view of Christians was enhanced. And now, if he runs into a Christian, he will be more inclined to talk with him than he was before he saw our light shining in his eyes, however brightly.
If somehow God does open a door for us to talk to the gent about Jesus, we’ll be prepared, calm, wise, clear, and gracious. We may be one person in a long chain of Christians who have talked with him over many years, or we might be the first person he has talked to who talked like this. He may want what we have, or God may be working in his life to have someone else bring him to Christ. But we’ve been ready, aggressive, and we gave God glory. He was pleased with us.
I think that or something like it is the way, or something similar, we should approach a guy dressed in a dress in the coffee shop.
As for the two women who were kissing to make a lude point, I suggest the same things I said above about being armed and ready. Then, when they smooch, whatever comes out of your mouth is most likely the best thing to say in the moment. I think that’s what Nate did, and it was good.
Overall, the key is walking with God and remembering that we are in a war. We need to think about what we are doing, have a plan, know what the ultimate goal is and without shrinking back, fulfill that goal.
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