I work with a pastor of a local church. You can tell by talking to him that he is very dedicated to his walk and his profession. Once he told me he works here so that he doesn't have to take money from his church. At the time I thought nothing of it, but now I realize how awesome of a thing this truly is. Anyway, point of the blog is this....
Yesterday we were talking back and forth, and he made a couple jokes about me, purely in fun. They didn't bother me one bit because I know what kind of person he is and that there was no way he meant any of it. I still gave him a hard time though because that's what I do. I made some comments about how he would need to get used to how hot it was in the office considering where he would be going and about how "the man of the cloth shouldn't be talking to me like that." So on and what not. I didn't mean anything by it either. Just two people joking.
This morning he came in and appeared to be upset. He walked up and down the hallway without saying anything to anyone. I thought it was my fault. Maybe he was upset with me or thought I was making fun of him for being a pastor (I have never addressed whether or not I had any faith directly with him, I typically just said ambiguous things). So I decided I needed to go check on him.
When I asked him if he was okay, he laughed to himself and laughed even more so when I apologized for picking on him. He said: "You know, more than anything else, it just got me thinking. You said something about man of the cloth and really all Christians should be men of the cloth. I was thinking of the verse in Ephesians about how your words should be filled with grace and shouldn't hinder anyone else's growth and I realized I probably joke too much here about things I shouldn't."
At this point I felt horrible because I don't want him to feel like he can't be himself. But...I definitely understood what he was saying. It's easy to make jokes or say things off the cuff that could be harmful to other Christians and nonbelievers alike. My poking fun of his being a pastor wasn't all that great either. I did this in front of someone who knows I had my doubts about religion and Christianity, specifically. So here I am still displaying characteristics of a nonbeliever when in my heart and my mind I should be totally devoted to Jesus and His word. I easily could have made her view me as a hypocrite if she were to be reading this or later hear me talking about God.
The behaviors we display against God speak far louder than any behavior we display for God. I have read recently and in the past that one of the biggest opponents of Christianity is Christians. People have such a negative view of Christians, one of the biggest complaints being hypocrisy.
The conversation we had today made me rather disappointed in myself, but was also eye opening. We didn't affect each other's faith in any way because we knew it was in fun, but what about other people in the office?
Hopefully one day between he and I we can reach a few of the people there, if only one.
Ephesians 4:29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
Colossians 4:6 - "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."
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