Strong Opposition?

This morning, I was reading 1 Thessalonians 2. In the second verse, Paul tells about how he and his gang continued to share the Gospel, even in the midst of "strong opposition." They had suffered and been insulted, yet they pressed on under "strong opposition" in order to spread God's message. Hmmm...

As I read this, I started wondering what the "strong opposition" is in my attempts to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Well, as I seriously ponder the idea of "strong opposition" in the sharing of the Gospel in Muncie, Indiana, I'm feeling a strong sense of conviction. This conviction that is overtaking me as I write this is basically centered around the fact that I have a pretty good idea what the "strong opposition" is in my sharing of the Gospel...It's me!

I've never suffered for the Gospel in the ways we read about in the Scriptures or hear about from Christians facing persecution around the world. I've never truly been insulted for my beliefs. I've never been insulted in sharing my beliefs with those around me. The "strong opposition" comes into play when I start thinking for myself. I'll feel God nudging me to share His love with someone and then I'll start questioning whether or not this is a good idea (um, let me just state clearly hear, that any idea from God is going to be a good idea). I'll then start worrying about what the person will think of me. I get caught up in the thought that if I share the Gospel with this person, he might judge me and dismiss me as a looney Christian and won't want to talk with me ever again (of course, the person might get that feeling anyway, regardless of whether or not I share the Word with him). By the time I figure out that it's probably going to be a good idea to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and share the Gospel with my random friend, I'll then start worrying about exactly what to say and exactly how to say it. I'll start running through how I think the conversation might go in my head. I'll make up grand scenarios of how I'll respond if the guy asks this question or that one. I start to look around the room for the quickest escape route in case the guy is offended by the free gift of grace I'm planning to inform him about.

Well, by the time I get every thing figure out, the guy has usually left the room. You see how I'm my own "strong opposition." I allow all these selfish worries to interfere with my sharing of Christ with the world around me. I allow myself to get caught up in what people may think of me, rather than getting caught up in caring about the eternal salvation of the person whom God has placed in my life.

Paul goes on in verse four to talk about how he and his posse were never trying to "please men but God." I think, too often, for myself (and maybe many Christians), I get caught up in trying to please our fellow man (or woman). I've seen this in some of the churches I've ever worked in...Rather than boldly proclaiming Christ or the taking a stand on an issue, we buckle under the pressure of keeping people happy. We don't want to offend anyone. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Sometimes we stand behind the status quo, we find it easier to be content with the way things are rather than taking a stand for how things could be if we were willing to suffer, to be insulted, to not worry about what others think, to not be ashamed of the Gospel or who we are in Christ Jesus.

I don't know, maybe I'm just speaking to myself this morning. But, I do know that too often I stand as "strong opposition" to myself. It's kind of weird, but it's totally true.