People are planning on boycotting four Fort Worth buses because some group called The Coalition of Reason has paid for signs saying "Millions of Americans are good without God". Well, speaking as a Christian myself, so far I don't see anything offensive. I know lots of good people who don't believe in God; I just didn't know how many to pray for. Well now that question has been answered.
Come on guys, is this new news? Did we just lose our blinders and wake up to reality? Non-christians are all around us and are the reason we're still here. God doesn't plan on his triumphant return until we Christians have reached every lost soul with the gospel. We do mission work in some of the roughest countries in the world yet we can't board a bus in our home town because all of a sudden we realize there is the possibility of sitting next to an Atheist, a Buddhist, a Wiccan, or an Agnostic? Somehow I don't think boycotting buses will reach the lost, nor do I think firing back with Pro-Christian signs is a way to bring souls to Christ. As I read the gospels and follow Jesus's outreach program, you know, where he went to the mountains to proclaim the good news, I don't recall he used sheep dogs to round us up and corner us, nor do I recall where he boycotted groups that believed differently from him. In fact, if memory serves me right, he actually went into the homes of those that had opinions differing from his. He ate with them, healed their sick and washed their feet.
If we truly want to boycott those with differing opinions we have to leave the world, but that's not exactly feasible is it. Thank heaven Jesus didn't boycott this world. He knew there were millions of people down here that "were good without God", yet he left heaven to come and live here so we can learn what we were missing, that there is something better than good; and we can't get on a bus! Give me a break.
Just like the Scribes and Pharisees tried to get Jesus' goat, (and failed), non-believers try to get our goat, and since we fall way short of the righteousness of God, some of us let them. I'm reminded of the song "There ain't no mountain high enough," by Diana Ross and the Supremes. People will do anything for love, supposedly, but they walk around a water puddle in the street before they help someone. Christians are dying for their faith in hostile lands for love of the lost and yet we can't get on a bus. It's just a sign, folks. It's a personal opinion, folks. Its freedom of speech, folks. The same freedom we want, but shouldn't expect according to the gospels that predict we’ll be at odds with father, mother, brother and sister and most of us don’t leave home if our family are non-believers! If we want to post things we believe in, we must be fair and allow others to do the same, barring hate speeches and obscenities.
And the suggestion of Christians firing back with signs of our own agenda; Phooey. That will create an unending cycle. Somehow, in this economy I feel like the money spent on one upping the Coalition of Reason would be put to better use being donated to homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity, Image no Malaria, The Union Gospel Mission, Safe harbor, to name a few. Why throw money down to show our difference of opinion with non-believers? Aren’t we suppose to love and forgive? Doesn’t God expect us to be good stewards of our resources? Can’t he fight his own battles? After all vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord. If he’s offended by the signs I think we should be praying harder than ever for the Coalition of Reason, not boycotting their bus.
Boycott: to cease or refuse to deal with something such as an organization, a company, or a process, as a protest against it or as an effort to force it to become more acceptable. Please show me a scripture to support this!
P.S There are two places in eternity you won't find atheists, heaven or hell.
Psalm 37:1
Luke 23:34
John 17:18
mathew 10:34
Mathew 24:9-13
1 Cor. 5:10
1 peter 3:9-11 the face
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