I remember a time, not too long ago, when my husband took me on a date night to the movies. We were a little late and upon quietly sneaking in during the opening previews I noticed that the theater was not packed, but not empty either. We found our seats, kicked up our feet, whipped out the popcorn and soda, and got settled for the two hour mindless adventure we were about to endure.
15 min. into the plot of the movie, a group of rowdy teenagers announced their presence as they nosily meandered to the seats in the third row from the screen. It took them some time to get settled, meanwhile agitating those who had arrived on time and paid good money for the portions of the film being interrupted.
Now, being a teacher, rude teenagers is one pet-peeve I cannot handle, and was, therefore, squirming in my seat trying to refrain from the authoritarian that wanted to let them have it. My husband placed a comforting hand upon my knee, also ensuring that I would not embarrass him that night. After some time, the teens briefly settled down leading me into false relaxation. I resumed the comfortable manner and refocused my attention on the film.
Soon after resettling my attention, one of the teenagers got up, walked towards the exit of the theater, and yelled across the room to his friends, asking them if they wanted anything from the recession stand, they thereupon, yelled out their orders. I had had it!
I got up from my seat, marched toward them and said something along the lines of “there are many of us who have actually paid to watch this movie...should you settle down quickly I will avoid getting the manager...We will not have this discussion agai...understood?!” One feeble minded youngster managed a “yes ma’am” And turned to sit forward while his other friends gave me a “who do you think you are” look, but still turned in their seats. The rest of the movie was peaceful and quiet.
The rest of the theater could have intervened at any moment. But nobody did. They allowed the immorality and inconsideration of others to continue until I stepped in. What if I had not? How long would it have continued? Had anyone taught those children how to behave in a public setting before? I wonder if this is a situation that they will remember as a lesson from a stranger.
Reflecting on this I think of our moral obligations as believers in Christ. It is our responsibility to reflect God to the wickedness of the world through our actions and our words. While reading Ezekiel chapter 3, this prophet of God is given an incredible burden:
“When I say to a wicked man, ‘you will surly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sins, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.” (Verse 18-19)
How easy it is for us, to correct someone’s behavior. Yet, when it comes to actually investing in the time to witness to the wickedness of the world, we stumble over our words and hide in our own bubble, fearing rejection. But would we rather be rejected by the world and then accepted by our heavenly Father? How can we look him in the eyes as believers upon the glorious day of entry into his kingdom if we do not at least try to share his gospel here on earth? God placed this burden on Ezekiel specifically, but I ask…is this burden removed from us? I don’t think so, if anything how much more is this burden placed upon our hearts now that we know the savior who came to this world and died for our sins? Redeeming us from the bondage of our previous generations? (Read Ezekiel chapter 18 for further evidence of this!)
God continues to promote the accountability among other believers as well. That if we see our brothers and sisters fall, we are to cal them out and warn them of their sins. (3:20-21) Sometimes witnessing to the church can be even more difficult than witnessing to a non-believer as most church-goers consider themselves saved? But woe, to those who feel comfortable sinning in the week and warming the pews! God warns that he will spit the lukewarm out of his mouth! (Rev. 3:16) He proclaims that upon judgment day many will cry out “Lord, Lord…” but he will confess that he does not know you! (Matthew 7:21-23)
I think of another scenario. As I was working with one of our youth groups on a mission trip to Mexico years ago, there was one student who was a thorn in every leaders side. She was the kind of kid that he said left she went right, ya know what I mean? All the other leaders were fed up with her. Well, one night, as the leaders gathered to meet after telling the kids to go to bed, I looked up and saw this student sneaking out of her room. I got up from the group to confront her and in all the “love” in the world I snorted… “are you just a disrespectful person by nature?”
She blinked back an astonished look at my bluntness and then sat on the steps and cried. It was now my turn to be astonished. Feeling guilty of my lack of patience, I sat next to her and put a comforting arm around her as she sobbed. There, on the steps, she confessed that her mother abused her and she was struggling with bulimia, and she apologized for her rebellious actions. I prayed with her that night and got the opportunity to lead her to Christ.
Almost 5 years later I still have a relationship with this young woman. The other week in my kitchen she brought this story up while helping me cook dinner. And I, blushed and apologized for my outwardness, excusing it with being tired on the trip. She reached over and hugged me and told me to never apologize for what I said. “No one ever talked to me like that before! I hated you before that night, but then realized you were right, I was disrespectful and that is not the person I wanted to be!.”
By being bold in speaking the name of our Lord, and the truth of a situation, we set ourselves apart from this world-therefore witnessing to those around us. You see friends, now is the time that we need to be bold in the name of our Lord and stop going about our daily selfish lives. We need to bring the light and salt into this world. We need to feed the hungry and give the thirsty a drink of the Living water. It’s time to cloth the naked and rescue the lost. It is time for the Christian tree to bear fruit! Please, next time you are in a situation when truth needs to be told, or morality needs to be questioned, do not hesitate to act out in love.
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