The Gospel of America: Pockets

One time Amanda was telling me of an older man who would come into her McDonald's and bother the girls who worked there. We all know the type. The kind of men who believe things like "Even though I keep getting older, the girls just keep getting younger." This guy moved a step beyond these personal beliefs, and put them into action. He flirted with these girls, he grabbed at their arms and hands.. He was what we call a pervert; a gross old guy who didn't have much of a filter on his thoughts or actions.

And I couldn't help but feel extremely helpless in the situation. I was four hours away at the time, and couldn't do much but just encourage her to avoid him at all costs.

Recently I was sitting in a booth at that McDonald's, reading a Psychology text book. A man sat a table away from me and began eating his food. I didn't think much of it. We struck up a conversation about Psychology; how he had gone to school for it and studied it for years before deciding just to work full time. We began talking about things that went under the surface level of conversation. He brought up what he called "inner secrecies," which was just a way of saying that everyone has these areas in their lives that they will protect with all they have. For example, someone who has been molested as a child can repress these memories and cause them to act out in bizarre ways. He went onto say that these things can only be fixed when the person accepts Christ as their savior, and can become brand new. All of their hurts, sins, and baggage are cast onto Him, and they are a new creation.

I was impressed at both his level of intellect, and that he outwardly told me, a stranger, about Christ. I noticed Amanda was trying to get my attention, so I went over to her, and she told me that the man I was talking to was "the pervert" who grabbed at her arm, and made comments about her freckles and dimples.

I couldn't believe it. With all of my heart I didn't want to believe this man was the same man she described. We were clearly describing two different people; yet they are one and the same. I was reminded instantly of what another friend once said to me: "Who isn't a Christian in Pennsylvania?"

This phrase has always stuck with me, and challenged me. I always think of it as so neat. Having been in Christian education all my life, I've been a fairly sheltered kid. Everyone in elementary school and middle school were Christians, because they were born Christians. They gave Christian answers. Their parents were Christians. However as I grew, I began to notice that there were many who grew up as Christians who had no idea what Christianity was even about. Myself included.

Now I am not called to judge people who do not believe. It is Gods job to judge. But when it comes to other Christians, or those who profess the name of Christ, I am called to hold dear the name of Christ and all it stands for. He has saved me from all I am, and He is continuing it in my life. He is an active force.

So it deeply perplexed me that this man would speak of Christ with passion and candor. Yet his actions displayed a very different part of him. So much were these two parts of his life separated, that I doubt he even noticed that they were in direction violation of each other. In one pocket he was a pervert. A creeper. A man who if ever confronted about such things would respond "It's the way God made me." Yet another pocket of his life contained a faith that looked and sounded so authentic.

But who in Pennsylvania isn't Christian? And isn't it kind of true?

Ok, so not everyone is a Christian in this state. But let's just say it's accepted. It's tolerated. It's kind of common. But Christ wasn't preaching a gospel of ease, comfort, or.. pockets.

Christ told his followers that if their salt loses it's saltiness, it is good for nothing. He told them that if they are neither warm nor cold, they will be spat out. He said to let our light shine before men. He said, wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. He said by our fruit, by our actions, we will be recognized for who we are.

A faith like that has no room for pockets. It's all or nothing. Sure, we make mistakes. We sin. We suck. But something deeply bothered me that this man could live with such divisiveness within himself. That his heart belonged to two masters.

And it made me realize that my own heart is dangerously similar. That I too have my pockets where I don't let Jesus in. Whether it's the words I speak, the things I attend to, the idols in my life I serve..

"If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell."

Which pockets have you kept to yourself?

Because in a place where "everyone is a Christian," the real challenge is not believing in Christ. The real hardship lies in living an authentic faith in word and deed.