What makes you so sure?

I was listening to a talk show today. One of the guests was a businessman who made it abundantly clear that he wanted to beseen as an Evangelical Christian who had a very clear set of political views.

The more I listened, the more I wanted to ring his neck.

He was arrogant, brash, rude, and disrespectful to anyone who did not share the exact same views as him. Anyone who wasn’t lock, stock and barrel with the way that he saw the world was misinformed at best, ignorant at worst. The tone of his voice was condescending. His attitude towards another person on the show who disagreed with him was dripping with arrogance.

Here is a man who verbally spouts a set of doctrinal beliefs, yet the words of his mouth betrayed the very life that he, as a self-confessed Christian, is called to live. The last time I checked, Jesus did not say, “blessed are those who verbally berate others who do not agree with them, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.”

As I listened, I found myself literally asking the question, “what would Jesus do?” How would Jesus respond to someone who respectfully disagreed with him? Would he respond like this self-confessed follower of Jesus? With arrogance and selfish pride? With a religious spirit so thick it gave a tangibility to the radio waves beaming through the air?

If I ever had the chance to speak to this man, face-to-face, I think my first question to him would be, “what makes you so sure?”

What makes you so sure that the way that you see the role of the Church in politics is correct?
What makes you so sure that the disconnected way in which you live your life of faith is correct?
What makes you so sure that you are right and everyone else is wrong?
What makes you so sure?

I can tell you this, I love Jesus Christ more than anything in my entire life and I did not agree with one peep that came from this man’s lips. So I ask again, “what makes you so sure?“

Christian or not, have you ever experienced someone like this? What was your response to them? What did it make you feel?

A conversation with a friend yesterday surfaced these prophetic words, “God will change the entire face and expression of Christianity in one generation.” Maranatha, let that generation be ours!