"This is not Preachbook, so please save the prayers, blessings, and sermons for sunday morning church. Respect my beliefs as I respect yours. Thank you." This is a partial post by a facebook friend on his wall the other day.
I replied that any part of my life will be a part of my posts and that he is free to hide me if this bothers him.
He replied, "Ericka, I wouldn't presume to tell you, or even ask you to refrain from your beliefs, I am simply saying that church is a more appropriate place, because your congregation shares your beliefs. By posting your beliefs on Facebook, you are essentially forcing all those on your friends list to either listen to you preach, or hide your posts completely."
His response went on a bit and he added another additional comment to top things off. At this point, I simply exited the conversation. I could not see that my continued participation would make a difference and I didn't want to end up in some sort of silly comment war.
I had basically forgotten this conversation when another friend posted about his day. He had been talking to a co-worker about their weekends. As it was Easter and they are both Christians, they discussed church as part of their conversation. He was later informed that he was not allowed to discuss his religious beliefs at work. His post started a huge conversation about religious freedom and freedom of speech as well as "force feeding" religion to people who don't want it.
What a sad, sad state of affairs. So many secular folks have been misled by zealots and fanatics. When the most obvious Christians are the ones leading the Crusades and the witch hunts, it's no wonder that many people are leery. They expect to be judged and condemned for being who they are or believing what they believe, or even not believing in what they don't believe. They think that hatred and elitism equals faith.
True faith cannot be shown solely by our deeds or our words. True faith shines through us. A person with faith can always find the bright side. He's the person you can always count on for a smile on a rough day. She's the one ready with the hug whenever you need it. He's the eternal optimist, knowing that hope springs eternal. I talk about God as I would talk about my family. When I talk about my church, I am talking about my friends. My faith is not what I do or what I say. It's who I am.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:10
Prayer for the persecuted
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