DON'T Tell People About Jesus!!

I was playing golf the other day and met up with a local man who was by himself, so our group let him jump in and finish the round with us. During our conversation, he found out that I and some of my ministry partners were planting a church in Winston Salem, NC, next year. He seemed to be excited about it, and began to tell us how involved he was in church in Anderson, SC, and how much he loved Jesus. He seemed to be an all around good guy.

Later in the round, our new friend hit a ball in the water. He got mad and threw his club back at his golf cart. He started cursing and even using God’s name in vain. I stopped and thought, “Wait a minute, something’s not right here.”

This man claimed that he was a follower of Jesus, but was losing his temper, cursing, and blaspheming the name of the One he claimed to worship and praise?! As we road to the next hole, I tried to take the perspective of a non-Christian. I thought, “If that is what a Christian is supposed to be, then I’m really not interested. He’s no different than me. If whatever Christ has to offer is going to result in my life looking like that, then no thanks. You can keep your religion.”

At that point, I wanted to go up to the guy and say, “Do me a favor… don’t ever tell anyone that you follow Jesus. It’s really doing more harm to the cause of Christ than it is helping.” I have the same advice to others who want to claim the Christian faith but aren’t willing to live the Christian life:

Just shut up.

Don’t say anything.

You’re ruining it for those who are trying to show Christ to the world with their speech, attitude, and actions.

DISCLAIMER: This does not mean that I am perfect! This does not mean that I don’t blow it sometimes, and say and do things I shouldn’t. Neither is this note an excuse for you not sharing your faith!

Don’t think, “Nathan said I had to be perfect in order to tell people about Jesus, so I’m just not going to say anything.”

Look, if you were perfect, you wouldn’t need Jesus. No one is perfect, but are you striving to be Christ-like? Are you striving to live a life for Him? Does your life - your attitude and actions - help draw people towards Christ, or push people away?

When asked about the Christian faith, Mahatma Gandi once said, “I love your Christ, but I don’t like your Christians. They act nothing like your Christ.” It’s time for Christians to go beyond sharing their faith with their mouth, and seriously live it out with their lives! People are tired of just hearing about Christ from those who claim to follow Him; they want to see someone LIVE like Christ.