The Devil Wears Sweatpants
Bob Turner of Renew.org writes an insightful post on how Christians are not to be comfortable. As Rick Warren said, "“God is more interested in your character than your comfort."
I and some other Christians see darker days ahead for those who follow Christ. And we can fret and whine.
Yet, Americans and other Western Christians have it easier than most Christians around the world. My Open Doors app recites atrocities committed against Christians in non-Western nations. The faith of these brothers and sisters amazes me.
Meanwhile, we in the West complain about being canceled (My Twitter account, which I didn’t use much and only had maybe a dozen followers, was canceled in the great purge of January 2021).
Or worse, many just keep their mouths shut and move quietly through life.
But God has called us to an uncomfortable life.
Bob Turner states in his post “The Devil Wears Sweatpants” that
We love to be comfortable. It’s easy; it’s convenient; it’s killing us. Comfort can be a great thing in the moment. But it can have terrible side effects. It promises ease but prolongs misery. That’s why God calls us to be uncomfortable.
Christ calls us to stand out in our culture, set apart, and shine his light in the darkness.
Christians must learn what it means to faithfully minister in Babylon, even if Babylon used to be called the Bible Belt. Being on a mission field will require us to be on a mission. We must learn how to be church in the marketplace and understand how to share good news among people who share none of our philosophical assumptions.
I admit this is hard. I often miss opportunities to share or to place a pebble in someone’s shoe, as apologist Greg Koukl says. Other times, I’m intimidated.
Nevertheless, I write this blog to shine the light and encourage others to do so.