I recently heard from an old friend who had attended the same church as me when I was a teenager. As this was someone towards whom I had at one point been a self-righteous, arrogant, judgmental know-it-all, I offered a long-overdue apology. They very graciously accepted it, saying that they too had once been “obnoxious for the Lord.”
I love that phrase. I think it should become a standard way of referring to what is an all-too-common kind of behavior.
At present, it seems to have only been used twice. Once by James F. White in his book Christian Worship in North America
I think it is worth reflecting on what it is that motivates that behavior. I engaged in it, and yet I am not sure I know exactly what led to it. But I suspect that it emerges from the belief that the righteous will be persecuted, and thus – whether consciously or subconsciously – we may behave in an irritating manner that provokes hostility, which then is (mistakenly) taken as confirmation of our righteousness.
Have you ever been obnoxious for the Lord? If so, do you have any further light to shed on the phenomenon?
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