Momentum: How To Ignite Your FaithSample

DON’T BE A JERK FOR JESUS "What a bunch of jerks.” Those were the words put on a huge billboard by Christ Covenant Church in Beaumont, Texas. What a bunch of jerks. Prideful, hypocritical, selfish, judgmental jerks. It was a self-indictment of Christians and the way we are often perceived. Pastor Chris Beard said of the billboard, “We wanted to reach out to the community and send the message that as a church we messed up. We’ve failed." A lot of damage has been done to the cause of Christ by people who took a stand for something that were grumpy, mean-spirited, and cranky. We could learn a lot from Daniel about how to stand for our convictions and to do so in a gracious manner. By the edict of King Nebuchadnezzar, he was deported to Babylon where he would be trained as an elite and promising leader. One of the perks of being in the king’s training program was that you ate royal steak and drank royal wine. That was a problem for Daniel. It wasn’t because Daniel was a teetotaler or a vegetarian. The problem was that this wine and meat was being offered to idols. For Daniel to partake would be to indirectly participate in idol worship. So he went to the head official and said, “The diet you have prepared for us violates what we believe. So how about giving us a different diet—just vegetables and water?” The official said, “I can’t do that. If you Hebrew guys aren’t looking fit, I’ll get blamed. The king will have my head.” Notice Daniel’s response. He didn’t get antagonistic or belligerent. He didn’t become a jerk. He simply offered a possible solution: “Give us a ten day test, eating only vegetables and drinking only water.” Daniel’s response was gracious, marked by kindness and courtesy. What a great lesson for believers in the twenty-first century. It doesn’t just matter what we stand for; it matters how we take our stand. To truly live separate from the world, we must model both truth and grace. We must courageously stand for truth, but we must do so graciously. In the kingdom of God, conviction and kindness stand together. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you modeling both truth and grace in your life? Today’s Takeaway It doesn’t just matter what you stand for; it matters how you take your stand.