DON'T BE WEIRD
I recently heard someone speak about how Christians should work together in a church setting.
His advice was simple enough to make the room laugh.
“Don’t be weird.”
It was funny because it was true.
Somewhere along the way, we Christians learned how to make ordinary human interaction unnecessarily complicated. We learned how to hide behind spiritual language, avoid honest conversations, and give divine weight to personal preferences.
Instead of admitting that we changed our minds, we say God is leading us in a different direction.
Instead of receiving correction, we decide someone is questioning our calling.
Instead of having a difficult conversation, we announce that we are protecting our peace.
Instead of resolving a disagreement, we gather a small circle of people who agree with us and call it discernment.
Before long, every inconvenience becomes opposition. Every disagreement feels like division. Every awkward moment is treated as evidence of a spiritual battle.
To be clear, spiritual battles are real. We just don't need to blame every uncomfortable moment on one.
Sometimes it is not that deep.
Sometimes a meeting is only a meeting. Feedback is simply feedback. A difference of opinion is not an attack, and the person across the table is not the enemy.
They may simply see something we do not.
Faith should make us more grounded, more honest, and more dependable. It should make us easier to trust and safer to approach. It should teach us how to listen without becoming defensive, disagree without becoming cruel, and apologize without explaining away what we did. Most of all, the one who has received the most grace should be the quickest to extend it to another.
Spiritual maturity is not measured by how mysterious we sound.
It is revealed in how steadily we live.
It is found in people who keep their word, communicate clearly, receive correction, and serve beside others without turning every tension into a crisis.
Not every preference requires a prophecy. Not every frustration needs a spiritual explanation. Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is tell the truth, have the conversation, keep the commitment, and treat people well.
Love God deeply.
Love people honestly.
Do good work.
And whenever possible, don't be weird.
If this made you smile and think at the same time, share it with someone who might be weird sometimes. They probably don't know it.
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