A lot of people might roll their eyes and stop reading once they read my title, but the truth is, in some ways, openly being a Christian can get you punished. A prime example is graduation speeches or prayers. Most schools have now said you cannot recite Christian views if you are the valedictorian. In some cases, the school wants to give the okay for your speech to make sure.
In most jobs, you cannot pray openly or you fear being fired. A teacher cannot say a prayer at lunch-time in school for fear of losing her job. Crosses are being removed from public premises, and the Ten Commandments has been attacked for years, yet they’re the foundation of our Constitution.
Bashing Christians has turned into quite a profit making endeavor, whether you sue over it or just blog about it. I used to watch a lot of police detective television shows until I realized that anytime they had a Christian as a character, they were the culprit. Very seldom does a minister commit murder, yet you wouldn’t know it from Hollywood. And when it comes to sexual assault on children, Hollywood can’t wait to make the guilty party a priest. Funny how racial profiling is okay when it comes to Christians.
Yet there are those who stand up for God and their Christian beliefs. One is Mark Burnett who helped bring “The Bible” to the History Channel. This was one of the largest television shows of the year. He’s also speaking at the Global Leadership Summit this year. http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/.
Another person who isn’t afraid to stand up for his faith is Roy Costner IV. He was the valedictorian of Liberty High School in South Carolina this year. The school approved his speech, he tore it up, and recited the Lord’s prayer. If you’d like the read the whole story, it’s right here. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/351713.
As Christians, we need to be faithful to our beliefs. We need to have courage to stand for God. It’s not easy. Just ask Peter who denied Jesus three times. John 18:17 reads, Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” You can read about the two other times in John. But if a disciple, someone who was good friends with Jesus can’t stand before others and admit to being a Christian, how are we supposed to? With prayer and reading the Bible.
I’m not saying go out and stick your finger in someone’s face, but live a Christian life. Pray in the open. If someone asks you to go to lunch on Sunday, let them know you’ll be at church. You can only lose your job if you try to convert others or preach to them.
Fear cannot lead us. God has to.
Other than the media, where have you seen Christianity being attacked in this country? Has there been a time when you stood up for Jesus?