I Used To Keep Quiet About Being A Christian

It's an amazing thing because one of my spiritual teachers was brought up in an atheist home growing up. She was surrounded by parents that programmed in her there was no God. I just met her in the last year, but I can tell you she explained what it was like to be a an atheist. She explained to me how her life evolved and that she was always very skeptical about it, till she found out differently.

I Thank God that I met her the last year, as I entered Hub pages a month ago, and never really understood why she gave me this advice, "Let other's live in their reality, and Live in yours." From the religious and atheist perspective on here we can come to one thing, that we will never agree whether there is a God. So why not just drop it and agree to disagree. Why go on attacking one another when you will never change the other person's view or understanding whether there is one or not.

Both the Religous and the Atheist will stick to their guns and stand their ground. It's almost like entertainment purposes watching people be at each other's throat over it. Fortunately you never save another person, or change them. Doesn't matter what you say or do, you will never be able to change them.

I grew up never telling anyone I just met I was a Christian, because even back than I knew people felt uncomfortable with it. I wasn't necessarily hiding it, but I knew they were not always in agreement with it. I learned it was more important to act out the bible than walking around preaching scriptures, and carrying a bible around in my hand. I didn't win people's respect and heart's by pumping God's word down their throat like yucky cough syrup that they never asked to taste. Like a child they just want to wrestle you, spit it out, and have a tantrum about why their isn't a God.

I rather not wrestle with anyone. I rather just love them the way God would. If God was standing in front of them what would he say. It just reminds me of casting stones. When Jesus stood and said, if any of you have gone with out sin than cast your stones. Everyone of them walked away from where Jesus was standing. They all realised they were no better than the other, they had all done something wrong in their lives. They weren't going to sit there and argue with Jesus.

By participating in the arguments I just step down from what I believe and that is not to my judge my brother or sister. It doesn't matter if they believe what I do. It is my example that demonstrates whether I truly believe in God. I had to catch myself yesterday, because I found myself in a debate with one trying to prove there is a God. I can not prove there is one, only that I have been aware of one, and experiences that I have experienced or witnessed in my life. But, trying to convince him that there is one, that is strictly none of my business. That is God's business. God doesn't need us to fix or changes someone else, or try to prove that he exists.

Most of my life I've watched how God has worked in my own life. There were times I didn't believe he heard me, or that he existed, or that he was there at all. I cried, screamed, got angry, and had my tantrums. Yet I didn't get an answer till 15 years later. During this time I have to say what God was doing is shaping my character, letting me do it my way, letting me be rebellious, letting me do what ever I needed to do till I was tired of fighting him. It's kind of like trying to catch a cat with a fish net. If it's running around wild in a house, that cat tries to escape you, hides, finds the smallest areas to hide so you can't get to it and capture it. Once it is in front of you, you scoop the fish net over it. You have to trap the cat and let it struggle till it gets tired of fighting before you personally handle it. Otherwise you will get scratched up and bit.

In a sense God will not work in those peoples lives that don't believe till their done hiding, running, ignoring, denying, and refusing him. He will let them go wild and run around in the wilderness for as long as it takes for them to hit bottom, and not be able to take it anymore. Just like the alcoholic, or drug addict, until they have had enough times hurting themselves, ruining their lives, killing themselves, they will suffer, be filled with pain, and lost in the dark. No one can help them out of that place, only themselves and they have to reach out to God for healing and help.

God only helps those that help themselves,ask for his help, and invite him into their lives. It is useless fighting and arguing, trying to change another person, or judging them. It is through our actions not our words that demonstrate whether we love them and accept them where they are at. God does not judge them or shove a bible in their face every day. He let's them learn on their own. He doesn't argue with them. He never argued with me, I argued with him, and left him. I wanted to do it my way, so I did it my way, and got burned many times.

Most people didn't know I was a Christian till the last two years. I kept silent because I made more of a difference accepting others where they were at, and they didn't feel that I was judging them, or trying to push it on them. When they found out they were upset, and angry at first, but the label didn't change what a difference I had made in their lives. Perhaps it was almost like being an earth angel, behind the scenes they didn't know God was working in their lives, but he was. Angels don't tell you they are there. They just watch over you, and look after you. I prayed for people, and gave them advice. Some of them were heretics and atheists. I've watched them in three years change totally around and live better lives because I made a difference in their lives praying for them.

I never had a problem being friends with an atheist. They never met a christian like me, because I didn't sit there trying to push my faith on them, or change them. Usually they would walk away trying to figure out what was different about me from all those other Christians out there.

It was simply the fact that I knew it would do more harm to force it on them. It was better to love them where they were, and be the example. Living out the lessons, and always having the question in my mind, "What would Jesus do?" If he was standing there how would he handle the situation himself. Don't even know if those bracelets are still out there, but it was an important milestone in my life when as a teen i wore them. It applied it to every situation and circumstance in life.

It's sad that even if I write this, it will still happen, and people will find it important to attack others for their beliefs. For me it really is just tiring and exhausting reading the arguments. I have to laugh because how much wasted energy goes into these events on Hub Pages. It's a flat out war, and really do I want to participate in something that causes people more harm than good. I rather agree to disagree, and like my spiritual teacher has tuaght me the last year let other's live in their reality and live in mine. It is more harmful to both of us if I do anything different!

 Using the KJV this time, in John 8:1 - 11 scribes and Pharisees had caught a woman in the act of adultery (the woman commonly referred to as the prostitute) and told Jesus who was teaching in the temple that the Mosaic Law required she be stoned to death. Trying to make an opportunity of this to trick Jesus that they might accuse Him, they, with stones in hand, asked Jesus what He says about the Law. After Jesus tried to ignore their repeated questioning, He told them "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." One by one each man dropped his stone and walked away.