Was I Christian, cowardly or courteous?

[Wren]

Its not hard to find Christans who, for lack of a better discripter, have this whole Christianity thing "figured out". They will tell you how Jesus is the total driving force in thier lives, and thats a wonderful thing. I'm not so sure I'm at that point sometimes.
 About 4 years ago a person from another area, who I had considered a friend, made a change in attitude and lifestyle that I have no use for, and as a result, I have no use for him. He would call once a year or so but I didn't return any calls. Yesterday, to my dismay, he appeared at my door, all eager to tell me about his life and how wonderful it was. I was not about to have him in my house if I could avoid it(un-christian, is it not?) so I herded him outside where I endured his diatribe in the best manner I could. I was not rude, but neither did I acknowledge his statements with more than an occasional "uh-huh", or "that so?". He left after about an hour. Immediatly I asked God for forgivness for the animosity I was feeling toward this individual. Through out the time, I wanted badly to, in the classic vernacular, "Give him a piece of my mind" and tell him to hit the road and never disturb me again. But I held my feeling in check, something I am not known for.
 But the incident made me ponder, did I take this whole approach becase of my Christian beliefs? Was I being commonly courteous? His actions did not harm me in any way, so why not keep a lid on it? No sense causing hard feelings un-necessarily. Or, worst case senario, was I simply too cowardly to confront him? There is no chance he would have started an altercation, I would certainly have prevailed easily, why be timid?
 In the end I was glad that I took the approach I did, but it did nothing to quell my desire to "share my thoughts with him." But I can offer no explanation as to why I behaved the way I did. Its very confusing!    

[Symphony]

Hi, the Wren.  

I'm not sure, either, from reading yours.  But you're thinking about it now.

"Walking in the Spirit" will certainly lead you to do things you can't necessarily explain(that's why it's called, "walking in the Spirit"--hehe).

You've got a lot of dynamics going on there, in your description, many which, depending on the total mix, can be perfectly legitimate.  I'm not sure that the "rightness" or "wrongness" of your exchange there can be reduced to a predictable science.

It's more  a question of who's Lord in my life, at any given moment.  Me?  Then I'm pretty much consigned to constantly figuring out whether I'm right or wrong in any given situation.

Adam and Eve's first mistake was not so much the forbidden fruit; rather, "deciding" to eat of the fruit.  Thereafter, we all have been "deciding" ever since.  And left always "wondering". And we go to our graves "deciding" this, "deciding" that, and always "wondering".

Hehe, sorry, it's not a very good prognosis.

Jesus said, "Ye must be born again".  I think that's what he meant.  We become born of the Spirit; our "decision making" recedes into the shadows.  His dicision making--the Spirit's, takes over.

Did you do right?  Did you do wrong?  The Spirit knows.  And if you're part of that Spirit, you will  know too.

Thank you...

[Tibby]

Honestly, bro, I think you where none of the above. You where only startled by the friend you haven’t seen in years, and you where at a loss for words. It is a common thing, people talk about whitnessing, but sometimes miss a chance. Try not to make a habit of it, but in the long run it may do you some good. One day, when you are talking to him about what you believe, and he tries to interrupt to correct you, you can say “Listen, I listened to you talk about your beliefs, and didn’t try to argue or anything, so please, give me the same respect." Was this a spoiled chance to whitness or a  seed planted (sorry for the cliché) for a later date? Maybe both! Remember, all things work together for good for those that love god and are called according to him plan. Don't be so hard on your self. God didn’t look at what you did and said “Man, that is a wrench in the system!” He knew it was coming, remimber that. This isn’t an excuse to go off and do al kinds of stuff and let God work it out for good, as I’m sure you know, but it is a comforting though that God know when we are going to screw up from the time he made Adam, and already has it planed out.

[rememberedone]

  The first post remindd me of something I've been going through-I have wanted for so long for someone I know to be saved, but they keep rejecting Christianity, yet still seem at times to want to stay in contact with me. That's hard for me...yes, I do care for them, but I don't want to damage my spiritual walk. And perhaps sometimes, I wonder, if the best thing you can do is walk away, let someone come to their senses, so they can realize the pit they are in.

[archangel]

  I think most of us have had self-doubt when confronted with watching people we know and care about make terrible decisions in their lifestyle and being unsure if we are reacting to them in the right way.  Our faith tells us not to deny Christ if we don't want Him to deny us and remaining silent can feel very much like a denial at times.  We are torn between wanting not to cause pain or embarrassment to others but also wanting to set them straight when it comes to what God has demanded of us in the scriptures as far as "Lifestyle" goes.  Sometimes it comes down to just trying to live a Christ-like example for people who refuse to accept what you say when you talk to them.  With God's help you may have more influence than you think even if you never say a word.  You just stay in God's will and by all means, keep praying for this person and let God handle judging his heart.