5 Reasons You May Be Reluctant to Discuss Your Beliefs
Typically, I will come to you all with humor. I know that laughter is some of the best medicine, so I try to laugh as much as I can. But this month I have something a bit more serious on my heart. This month I want to talk about how difficult it has been for my family to fully adjust to being in the church. I have struggled with this topic for years (literally) and still go back and forth with it daily, so I know that there may be others out there who may possibly deal with the same struggles.
One thing that has been hardest to keep our family involved and focused on our faith is the influence of others. From our family, our coworkers, and even other members of the faith, there are so many influencers that affect how we stay motivated and involved with the church. Here are the top 5 reasons I am reluctant to discuss my beliefs with others.
1.It’s not the norm
Many people are stuck in traditional ways of thinking. If grandma did church a certain way then that was the way it was supposed to be done. If everyone in the world is going to church on Sunday, who are you to tell ALL of those people they are wrong? I mean the whole world can’t be wrong, right?
It is okay to be different from the world. John 15:19 says, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Yes that is right….the world 
will hate you because God chose you to be different. It takes a while to accept that this is okay. You may feel bad at times but you have to figure out within yourself, is it worth man’s acceptance or do I want God’s acceptance?
2.Times Are Different
Why would God hold us to the same standards as he had the people from thousands of years ago? We can’t truly expect to uphold those ancient laws in our society in these times, right? These are some of the questions people will ask you when you tell them that your preference is to follow the law.
I usually don’t just blurt out what my beliefs are. It may come up in conversation because someone offers me a type of food that I don’t eat or invites me to something and I say I can’t go because it is the Sabbath or a Feast Day. “Why don’t you eat bacon?” they ask….I simply try to respond, “Because of my faith” and move on….but most people don’t leave it there. They ask tons of questions and then tell me why those things have been “done away with”
But didn’t the Bible say, “For I am the Lord, I change not;”? Why are these times different? Did God tell us to change or did the world? Some things were meant to change, but as I learn more about the Bible, I know that there were things that God never meant to change. We should just truly understand from his word how to adjust to the world’s view of change without compromising the word.
3.The “God Loves Everyone” crowd
You will hear some people say that God loves everyone no matter what….I tend to believe that the love of God is one of the simplest complex things in life. God has made promises for his people and there are conditions to those promises. When there is a condition needed for a certain thing then ‘A’ must be done in order for ‘B’ to happen. So, if you want to receive your paycheck you must do work. If you want your car to move you must start it and drive it. If you love God you have to keep His commandments (John 14:15).
There are many who will claim that God loves them, but they refuse to abide by the rules he has left for his people to follow. “If” is a conditional word so according to the statement above, if you don’t keep God’s commandments, do you really love him?
4. The “Let he who is without sin” ‘quoters’
These are the people that seem to get to me the most. They can “judge” people however they want. Then as soon as you tell them you keep Passover or don’t eat pork they say, “How can you judge people because they celebrate Easter?” I never said I am judging anyone. What you believe is between yourself and whoever you consider your higher power to be. But as soon as I express what I believe, I am immediately judgmental. Why is that?
People get defensive really quick and start throwing Bible verses around then. “Judge not that ye be judged,” “For by grace I have been saved,” “There is nothing unclean…” Yep I have heard many of them; most of the time I don’t even dispute them [right then] because people have it made up in their mind that they can do what they want to do.
My concern is that just because I have certain beliefs doesn’t mean I am judging you for what you believe. Now if you flat out ask me if it is wrong, I will tell you what the Bible says, NOT what Cris says. So I am not judging anything. If you believe the Bible then it is on you to take the information I have given to you and if we get offended every time someone holds us accountable to the Bible, when will we ever receive true conviction?
5.It’s not the norm
Yes, I had to come back to this. The world is just different and according to the Bible that is okay. My father always told me that it is okay to be different. There is nothing wrong with standing out. I know that my beliefs are not part of what “normal” people do and yes, I am fine with that. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;” (1 Peter 2:9). Another word for peculiar is “unusual” and I am known for going against the norm. So, when people tell me “Well everyone eats bacon,” I am okay with telling them “Well, I’m not everyone!”
To send a letter to the Cris Travis, you can write to her at: cris@restorationmagazine.info
