R-E-S-P-E-C-T! (or lack of it)
This is the first rant, and as such it�ll be a quick �un. I want to talk about the level of respect Christians are afforded in the world today. It�s not very high, is it? Tell someone you�re a Muslim, or a Jew, or anything else apart from a Bible Basher, and quiet respect and even appreciation is the result. Of course, there are some idiots who won�t give any respect to anybody, but that�s because they are idiots, and as such will be ignored.
But say you�re a Christian, and the jibes come. �Why did Jesus die on the cross when He could have saved Himself?� �How can you believe in a God that doesn�t exist?� �What does the devil look like?� Yeah, convincing arguments. (Incidentally, I have been asked all of those questions before, the answers I provided being �Read the Bible�, �That doesn�t make any sense� and �You�re missing the point, and anyway, who cares?� in that order).
In fact, it�s not always when you first tell people that this happens. I have a friend who said that the fact I went to church was �cool�. She thought it worthy of respect that I held onto my faith. But when she saw me wearing a W.W.J.D? bracelet (short for What Would Jesus Do?) and I explained why I wore it, she said �wow, I have some weird friends!�. Nice, mate. It seems that I was allowed to be a Christian as long as she didn�t hear too much about it, and as long as I wasn�t, heaven forbid, actually doing anything about my faith outside of church. Call that respect? Because I don�t.
But, and this is a big but, this lack of respect and basic understanding is something I see as a positive indicator that what I believe is right, and the way to do things. Think about it. Jesus said that we were to expect a pretty rough ride if we believed in Him. Well, He got that one right (actually, this wasn�t the only thing He got right � see most of the rest of the Bible for details). We are not afforded enough respect by anybody�s standards. How many times have you been the victim of little, harmless, semi-serious jokes about your faith from your non-Christian friends? How many times did you laugh them off? Well, even these are marks of disrespect.
Disrespect, however, is not something that we expect from true friends, and not something we get because of other aspects of our lives. I�m not the butt of friendly jokes because I wear glasses, or because I can play the piano, or because I like a certain type of music. Perhaps I was when I was little, but (most) of my friends have grown out of it by now. So why my faith?
A good friend of mine once said something that has stuck with me. She said �the devil doesn�t attack you until there�s something to attack.� I truly believe that the only reason we are not afforded enough respect is because the devil fears what will happen if people start listening to us, and listening to what God has to say. So he attacks, in the most pitiful way possible. It is truly pitiful. What are the jibes of men? For some Christians around the world, disrespect is turned into terrible persecution. But what possible wounds can men inflict on us? Men cannot do any real damage to us as long as we have Jesus in our lives. Next time you feel attacked because of your faith, rejoice. It means your relationship with God is strong enough to make the devil shake with fear.
�Count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens � give a cheer, even! � for though they don�t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds.�
Jesus
(Matthew 5:11, 12 [The Message])