If we want to give gifts that last, how about one that spans eternity? However, the discussion that begins with the question “Got God?” is often elusive.
Sharing your faith is something that should come natural – but it is an enigma to many people.
When it comes to sharing our faith in the workplace, the path can be quite perilous. In the righteous pursuit to eliminate racism and prejudice from our world, faith-based discussion has been all but muzzled.
Even our religious rites have been subjected to hyper-secularization. Someday we might look back at this decade and remember it as the time when the Grinch came to life – the time when the retailers tried to kill Christmas. Lowe’s advertised “Holiday Trees” instead of Christmas Trees and Home Depot eschewed the word Christmas altogether. The American Family Association identified 11 major retailers, including Kohl’s, Staples, Nordstrom, Sears and Kmart, that actively avoided using “Christmas” in their advertising. They all did so presumably to avoid offending the five percent of Americans who do not celebrate Christmas.
Some school districts took similar measures to protect the public from religious themes (who they were trying to protect we’re not exactly sure). A few notable examples include the Plano School District in Texas that has been embroiled in a lawsuit for the past few years for allegedly banning Christmas colors from parties opting for plain white instead of the controversial colors of red and green. And then there was the New York City school policy that allows for menorahs and Islamic crescents but not Nativity scenes. And when the Dover, Pennsylvania school board attempted to take a stand in support of our savior when they added the teaching of Intelligent Design to the curriculum, they were summarily ousted by voters.
Today’s Christians are in a quandary. We know the divine imperative to live out our faith and we understand that living out our faith involves talking about our faith. Hiding who we are and hiding who our Father is goes against our calling. So, just what are we supposed to do?
Many of us try to walk the middle ground by dropping code words like “higher power” and “the man upstairs.” We display cozy spiritual things on our desks like rainbows and angels. But they fall short because they don’t do a thing to help improve the human condition of those around us.
When do we talk? When do we remain quiet? Share your opinion.
** David and Rob
Read all past issues at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/davidrupert
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