What do non-Christians want to see in us fellow believers? Is there something specific they aspire to see in terms of our lifestyles, our vocabulary, our day-to-day routines? Do they want to see love behind our actions, authority behind our words, and truth and honesty behind our motives? Unbelievers want to see results, ladies and gentlemen! A chef goes into a kitchen, broils ingredients, and cooks something; likewise, a Christian should cook something and display it, symbolizing that it's simply not enough just to talk about it--you actually have to do it. "Oh, I'm a Christian 'cause I go to church and youth group and my whole family is implicated in the local church scene." Really? That's wonderful. But what does your lifestyle say about that? Do you say you love Jesus and show it? Or do you say that you love Jesus, go to church and/or youth group but you're drinking, smoking, fornicating, and doing other inappropriate miscellaneous things? People don't like talkers or people who use a lot of superfluous words simply because talk is cheap. You can say a lot and quite frankly, whatever the heck you want, but when it's time to act upon your words, many fail to do so. "Oh, I'm a Christian but I'm also really popular." Is that the type of legacy you want to leave when you finish high school, that you were known for your popularity status rather than your temperature for Jesus? That you were heavily involved in the local drinking/smoking/sex scene rather than your fervent love for Jesus? Don't you get it? People are watching and monitoring your every move. You say you are a Christian so the people around you watch and detect your moves, your words, and your actions because you say you are a Christian so they want to see if you walk the talk rather than just talk the talk. If you say you're a Christian but do non-Christian-y things (i.e. doing things Jesus would frown upon), then you might as well not say you're a Christian because you are a freaking hypocrite! You sigh, you disgruntle, and you are vexed as to why you haven't lead anyone to Christ lately. Perhaps, if you analyze your lifestyle then you would see that you are a hypocrite and no one wants a hypocritical Christian. In the minds of nonbelievers, after seeing and observing you, they think, "Why would I want to become a Christian if they act like--referring to a nonspecific human--you?" You have to have results, something that proves to the eyes of nonbelievers without ever opening your mouth that being on the Lord's side is good not just because of what you're saying but because of what you're doing. Since obviously what you're doing is working and producing mass results. You can't say you love and serve Jesus and conduct yourself in an unlikely manner, comport and engage in inappropriate activities. No offence, but you might be the reason that person might go to hell because you are not living the light of Christ. As Christians, we are supposed to be a light, not just some dim headlight that is flicking and seems to die out at any given minute, but as strong as a lighthouse, guiding from several hundreds miles away. We are call to be different, set apart. We're supposed to have something that everyone wants, not act as if others have something you want and Jesus is practically nothing. When you cuss like a sailor, using excessive profanity and profoundly vulgar sayings, you do not exude the light of Christ; when you have erratic Facebook statuses, ranging from " I love Jesus and He is my life and I will serve Him for the rest of my days" to "#$%@! My life sucks!", it's no wonder people do not go to for life help because you obviously need help yourself to differentiate from what it means to love Jesus (if Jesus is with you, your life doesn't suck; it is the greatest adventure); if you claim to go to church on Sundays, but have sex Saturday night, there is a reason why no one wants to hear your opinion on God because no one wants to listen to a fornicating Christian who is the epitome of hypocrisy; when you're sick (and I'm referring to life-threatening diseases such as cancer or lymphoma), no one wants to listen on your opinion as God the Healer because you're not living a life of God the Healer since you're obviously still sick; no one wants to listen to a Christian who is in poverty and has the poverty mentality ramble about money and how good God is when you're barely making it. If you want people to take you seriously, to make people listen, and make them ask you what you're doing, then you have the live the life of prosperity. You can talk about healing because you live in supernatural wellness; you can talk about prosperity because all your debt is paid and you bought a 1.5 million dollar mansion...in cash; and you can talk about Jesus and His goodness because it's displayed in your life and is extremely evident in your day-to-day life. If you will not do and be likewise as Jesus, then you might as well not say you're a Christian. Let someone who is actually following Him and serving Him all the way do the talking because they'll listen to them and not you. If your youth pastor would ask your friends what is your temperature for Jesus, what would they say? Would you be shocked? Or would your pastor be astonished to find out that you are living two separate lives: the church life and then the school, after school, and Friday night life? What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? Do you want to be known for being popular or for making a difference in your peers just by simply being you and by your actions alone? You are not accountable to your friends, but to to God. You can go to hell even if you're a Christian because you are not a disciple of Christ or follow Him. Friends can help you go to hell. So, what would you rather be: an isolated, "religious freak" and go to Heaven and life in God's abundance, or be popular in high school but die and go to hell? It's your choice, my friend.
But what happens when you're surrounded by people who share Christ? When you are surrounded by Christians who are not bringing you up but rather dragging you down? What do you do then? Nothing. Just let them be. If you have friends who live life for Jesus up until the point of going to youth group, hanging with fellow Christians at school and that's it, leave them alone. Oftentimes, Christian people will be the ones rooting for you to fail, wanting you to be stumbling on the ground, asking them for help. When you talk about Jesus, do they grow uncomfortable? When you talk about healing and how God is the Healer and heals, do they grow offended and demand to know what prompted you to inquire such preposterous inquisitions? Do they make you feel as though they're bringing you down and holding you back rather than raising you up? Do they make you feel as though you should conform to the world rather than live by God's standards? If they are your real friends, then they will respect you and if they see real and genuine change in you and see you living what you preach then they will do the same because you're only living wholly by the Word, nothing else. If not, or, if they turn their backs on you because you are serious about God and about His Word and they're not serious about Christ, then it's better to cut them off completely. It's easier to go forward without so-called brothers and sisters dragging you down. We are called the body of Christ for a reason! We support each other; we love each other. We don't kick a fellow sister out or ostracize him or her because he or she said God heals based on Isaiah 53:5. If that's the case, then let them act immaturely and continue your life. People will see their lack of maturity and more importantly, people will look at those Christians and conclude that if they treat a fellow Christian that way, they wonder how they will treat a non-Christian. We are accountable to God with our time and how we spend our time, whether that be watching Creflo Dollar on your iPad or partying it up with friends who will laugh when you are so hungover, you land in the hospital due to alcohol poisoning. People are always watching you, observing what you say and do. Even if they say nothing, or even if they laugh along with you, in the back of their minds, they are thinking and observing you. What do you want to be known for?
What do you want to leave when you exit high school? Do you want to leave knowing that you made a difference, that you pursued Jesus regardless of all the distractions and nuisances, or that you were the most popular Christian on campus for strictly non-Christian reasons? People want much more than just talk, talk, talk. They want to see actions, they want to see a reality behind your words. They want to see results, something cooking in the kitchen. So, what are you cooking?
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