“So is this your car? Cool man. Like, what’s with all these CD’s – are you religious or what? Do you actually listen to that stuff?”
“Did you get your ticket to the Black Cat’s concert yet? They’ve got the most awesome drummer.”
“That’s so weird. I could never live like you do. I can’t imagine a weekend without partying, girls and booze. Like where do you get your kicks and hits in life?”
“Did you see the College Dorm movie? It’s crazy man. You got to see it.”
“Are you going to the game Friday night?”
“You got to come up here. I got a job that allows me to work 30 hours a week overtime (time and a half pay) in addition to my regular 40 hours…it’s my get-rich-quick solution. That’s my goal in life.”
“….umm. I guess we’re on a different wave length. I don’t understand you anymore.”
Former friends and neighbors and work associates were making fun of the christians for not partying anymore and for living such a clean life. They took a lot of ribbing and mocking for their changed lifestyle. The Apostle Peter wrote them a letter of encouragement and instruction. Here’s a clip from the letter:
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind:
for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles,
when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them … speaking evil of you:
1 Peter 4:1-4
Peter wrote to Christians who were taking some heat for being different. Their lifestyle changed after they trusted Christ. There was a very clear line between them and the unsaved people around them. They used to go to the same parties. Listen to the same music. Have fun the same way. Go to the same games. Bring their share of the drinks to the same parties. Stand in the same line ups to buy tickets to the same events. Engage in the same vices and pursue the same lusts. But there was a 180 degree shift and the unsaved people noticed the big change. These people who had trusted Christ had new desires; new values; new joys; and a new perspective on life. Old friends could not understand why they had stopped running here and there with them. As Peter put it: “… they think it is strange and surprising that you no longer run with them…”
Guess what? That’s the norm. That’s what God expects it to be like when we trust Christ. You should be distinctly different from your unsaved friends. They should see a big enough difference in you that they say: “What’s got in to you? I don’t understand what has happened to you. You have changed. You think totally different from us.” Sure, at the moment you might feel embarrassed, even humiliated because of what they said and how they said it. But inside you breathe a little prayer: “Lord, thank you for allowing me to be a witness to my friends. They are noticing the change You have made in my life. They don’t yet understand the peace and the joy You give me inside but help them to see from the outside that I have what they need. Give me the courage to tell them about Your Son, Jesus and the peace I have because of Him. Oh God, save them!”
Someone asked: “If you were arrested for being a christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” When the evidence is lacking, there is a question mark about authenticity and reality.