Turf wars in the name of Jesus.
Posted … NO TRESPASSING!
Posted … NOT WELCOME!
We wouldn’t do that, would we? I mean, would we put up signs like that?
As good, caring Christian people surely not?
But we do, and sometimes we do it in the name of Jesus.
The message within the message …
Here is what sparked these thoughts … this time.
My best friend received a phone call recently like all of us have received at one time or another. A phone call in which you have to try to decipher the message within the message. The happy, courteous voice that in a nice sort of way seems determined to manipulate us.
Christian-speak with an edge.
What had happened was my friend had inadvertently and very innocently crossed the boundary lines into this other person’s territory in a social setting.
Of course she didn’t realize this because the boundary markers were virtually invisible except to the turf defender. In fact, my friend didn’t even at first know that the turf defender existed.
But how could a person, especially a good, Christian person be so mean?
By not following the basic principles of “Caring for Others 101” per King Jesus for the people in our immediate circle of influence.
Let me share some thoughts of mine from a few years ago that may help explain.
——————-
June 26, 2005
Hi. I’m Dave Scott. Welcome to Living by the Words of God.
(Matthew 5:47 CEV) If you greet only your friends, what’s so great about that? Don’t even unbelievers do that?
We have all approached a group of people and gotten the message, haven’t we? “No room for you in our lives; no red carpet; no vacancies here.”
And so I wonder and ask. How many withheld greetings does it take before someone is convinced that she is not even welcome on the planet? How many times will she be denied entrance into the lives of those around her before she comes to the conclusion that there is no warm place of welcome, no shelter from the world’s storm for her? From her home to the coffee shop to the gas station to work, the only message communicated is “not welcome here.”
Jesus steps into our lives with these words and calls us to an opportunity to reach beyond our circle of friends, an opportunity to say for him “Welcome to God’s good earth. Welcome to the planet, friend.”
—————–
By not following the priorities of loving our neighbor (the person in close proximity who is in need) we post our signs that tell them to look elsewhere for someone who cares.
What we do seems harmless enough. We may even justify our actions in the name of service to Jesus.
We don’t see the cumulative effect.
And the reason we don’t see this is because we see our world only through our eyes and not the eyes of Christ because we are living on human principles of getting by in this world. And we are blind to the view from the other side.
We think we have given a tactful, even friendly, piece of advice when in fact we have posted a NO TRESPASSING sign.
And I would ask. How many “NO TRESPASSING” signs and “NOT WELCOME” signs do you think a person need to be confronted with through the course of the day before he or she gets a very clear message?
There is no place for me here. No welcoming group. No one who accepts me as family.
Sometimes our Christianity hides the Christ of Scripture; sometimes our best intentions hide the welcoming message of our Savior.
King Jesus lived here and gave us principles to live by; principles he lived by. And Jesus says “Welcome to the planet!” So why don’t we communicate the message of our King?
