Keep it to Yourself?

I often hear comments about religion along the lines of it being a "private" thing and needing to be kept that way. Comments like "That's good for you, but not if you want to share it with me." "Don't shove your religion down my throat". Etc.

I understand that there are some "religious" people who are less than sincere and less than loving. I'm sure we can thank them for a lot of these comments.

But to be fair, I often hear these comments over no such type of religious folk. Instead people react this way over very kind, gentle people who want to share their God story. Or just mention some praise to Him. Then SNAP. That's private!! Put it away...

The thing that bugs me about this is it's SO inconsistent with the rest of our conversations. We void privacy through gossip constantly, yet then suddenly it's so critical? Also, I wish people who made these types of comments realized it's like telling someone "Don't tell me if you win the lottery" or "Don't warn me if I'm about to run in front of a bus."

We want to know if we've got toilet paper on our shoes, or if there's something in our teeth, and yet we're offended when people want to share their faith with us?

I mean, I understand if you don't want to hear it. But just say that. It's the guise of "That's private" or when people are actually offended that someone would talk about their walk with God with them.

Inconsistent.

That's one of the reasons I love this video. I actually blogged about it a couple years ago, and it's still on my mind. So challenging. So convicting. So compelling.

And finally honest.

An atheist himself who totally gets why Christians witness. Who himself says, "How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and NOT tell them that??"