The Louder You SCREAM You’re a Christian, The Less of a GOOD Christian You Are
Well, it’s Sunday and what a more appropriate day to talk about Bible Thumping!
What 31 years on this earth has taught me thus far about spirituality and religion.
First off, spirituality and religion are 2 different matters all together. I’m spiritual and believe in a power much greater than we are, but I’m not very religious. You can be both spiritual and religious, but you can definitely be one without the other. I grew up going to different churches because it was a church that sponsored my family over during the war. So I grew up in a very Christian setting going to Catholic, (Southern) Baptist, Methodist and Unitarian churches as well as Buddhist temples. Most of my time in the churches were without my parents. They’re straight up Buddhist with very old family traditions that will sadly die off with them.
Glad I Escaped This Would Be Mother In Law
I remember dating this wonderful man when I was about 20. His father was a pastor and had sadly passed by the time we got together. His mother was remarried…to the guy she cheated on her pastor husband with! She had asked me one night when we were at a small family function what religion my parents were. I told her they were (and still are) Buddhist.
She didn’t say much after that, however, very shortly afterwards, my boyfriend had told me the ranting that went on about my worshipping pagan Gods. How funny that she never asked me what I believed in, but was so ready to make judgements on the person that I was. How very un-Christian like. Oh, and did I mention that she was married to the guy she cheated on her pastor husband with? Surely that’s not as offensive to God as me believing in Buddha.
The Louder You SCREAM You’re a Christian, The Less of a GOOD Christian You Are
Have you ever noticed those who preface many of their thoughts with, “I believe in God…” or “I’m a good Christian…” or “God laid it on my heart…”? What surprises me are the people that you interact with on a daily basis that are very spiritual beings or who are truly good Christians, that you never even know about. The reason I say this surprises me because the really good Christians don’t tend to over exaggerate their goodness. They don’t have to. It just emanates from their every day actions. They’re honest, good natured, kind, caring and helpful to others. Those that have to say they are these things don’t trust in their own actions enough to show what they’re really about. Or rather, they must know somewhere deep down that their spewing Christianity and Bible quotes is a total crock of shit and that if they’re not careful, their façade of being a truly good human being will crumble, so they scream louder to draw attention to their words to deter you from looking too closely at their actions.
So it’s taken me years to understand the meaning behind “don’t listen to what people say but watch what they do,” but learn this I have. And on this topic, it’s loud and clear. I understand more than ever to steer clear of those who have to verbalize their connection with God every other day.
The Truth
No one cares about what you believe in unless they ask you. If you look for opportunities to push your views on others, then your interpretation of the Bible is as tainted as that Catholic priest who molested 14 boys under the age of 12. You use the word of God for your own means. If you hide behind God and use him as an excuse for the (poor) decisions you make, well, you ultimately will have to pay the price for that too, so let’s not kick you while you’re down.
Oh, by the way, did I mention that religion has no place in business? Do not sign your emails with, God bless you all, in God, etc. Do not speak to your employees about their beliefs as that will open you up to a whole slew of legal liabilities. Do not tell your colleagues that, “God laid it on your heart…to only spend $1,500 on advertising.” God doesn’t care about what you spend on your advertising, he’s left that up to you to decide. Yes, this last example was a real live conversation in my life, but I digress…
So, if you want to be understood, try understanding first. If you want others to understand your viewpoint on God, then try seeing why they believe what they believe first. And then, if they ask you your opinion, give it, otherwise, don’t bully me with your personal beliefs.
Amen
AMEN! My business is a Christian Direct Sales Company that I have had for over 23 years and I knew and interacted frequently with the founder, Mary Kay Ash. One of her favorite quotes was “you may be the only Bible that some people will read.”
She was an incredible Christian role model, but you did not hear her trying to force it upon others all the time. With a Company the size of Mary Kay Cosmetics, she was smart enough to know that not everyone in the busines was a Christian. Leading by example was a much better way to influence those who were not Christians, than mandatory bible study, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, it was crystal clear that Mary Kay and her Company was Christian. She never hid that, but she didn’t use it as a way to force her opinions on others.
This was a great post! Thanks for sharing!
If God is a part of my daily life and beliefs he will be a part of my business life and everything I do. God cares about every aspect of my life. I do believe God cares for you on a very personal level. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to express my religious and spiritual values.
@Lisa Olinda If God is truly a part of your being, then I absolutely believe that he will be a part of each aspect of your life. No doubt there. The article is about 2 different things: If you are a God Loving individual and take the Word as it was meant and not by skewing it to fit your own sense of right & wrong, then you really don’t even have to utter the words that ‘You are a good Christian.’ It’s just self evident and you then lead by example.
The 2nd aspect is that if you are a business owner, then bringing religion into a non-religious business opens you up to all sorts of liability. The very expensive kind that can land you in court with our sue-happy society. It’s hard for new entrepreneurs to differentiate the professional aspects of running a business without co-mingling their own personal beliefs sometimes. This leads me back to a recent post on how to not let emotions run your business. And let’s face it, religion & spirituality are emotional topics for most of us, it just isn’t kosher in the professional environment, especially if you are the boss. So if you consciously make an effort to bring it up regularly, then you are running your business on your emotional foundation, not from sound business practices.
This is just a reminder that those that you hire or decide to work with do not have to mirror your beliefs in order to be a great asset to you & your company. Conversely, often times they just don’t care what your beliefs are so don’t push it on them.
I am much more apt to ask you and care about your thoughts on spirituality if you are not shoving it down my throat each time I see you or have emails that say, “In God, ___”
This topic is certainly controversial and I appreciate that your comment was written with grace.
@Nancy Sutherland Thank you for understanding the heart of the post. I love the deep spiritual and religious strength I have encountered in my life. And apparently Mary Kay (and you) understood the power of being good rather than ‘talking’ about being good. There is so much more respect for someone who earns it by their actions than by trying to command it in their verbiage.
Thanks for taking your time to comment!
Well mate, I ain’t Christain but I will say, I really liked your article.
For me, it gave me a peaceful message of how we don’t really need to say who we are but rather, live who we are, and just let our actions speak for itself. In listening, in helping, in giving, in entrepreneurship to grow and lead by example.
Aye, lee, I liked your article very much. Very sincere mate and great message to put in all our lives. Cheers.
Thank you @adamtaha. Christian or not, we all have a strong spiritual bond. I just think we prefer not to have it shoved down our throats daily.
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