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Don't Be One of "Those" Christians

This is the story of how a good Christian boy went to a college party.

It was the last party of the semester, and the seniors were going to graduate the next morning. We’d never see them again. A keg had been purchased, drank and returned by the time I showed up around 10:30. I brought peanut butter no-bakes that made some blitzed college students very happy.

I stayed close to my good friends because I’m not much of a partier. I don’t think getting belligerent-drunk makes for a good time, but I went because some of those graduating seniors were my friends and I wanted to say goodbye.

I found myself in conversation with two of those seniors. We’ll call them Stew and Mike.

Stew was tall, lanky and generally the most chill person on the face of the earth. Mike was average height with one of those epic man-beards that are all the rage among hipsters. They were both the quiet, intellectual type.

Somehow, despite the boozy fog that had enclosed both of them, our discussion turned to religion and spirituality. They both knew that I was a Christian, and they said some things that really surprised me.

Mike, a self-proclaimed agnostic, said to me, “Joey, if I were a Christian, I’d want to be like you.”

Stew chimed in, “Yeah. You’re not a jerk.”

He didn’t exactly use the word “jerk,” but you know what I mean.

Those were the kindest words any person has ever said to me. I say that because a few years ago, I was a jerk. A Bible-thumping, Scripture-quoting, Jesus-belligerent jerk.

Back then, my heart was in the right place in that I felt this responsibility to fulfill the Great Commission, but I had no idea how to relate to people. I couldn’t get on their level because I was righteous and they were sinners who needed Jesus more than I needed Jesus.