The Funny Thing About Believers...

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MissCris

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Christians are a strange, oddly skeptical bunch...which is funny, really, considering that we believe in an Incredibly Unbelievable Thing; Christ’s resurrection. We believe in that, yet- well, bear with me and I’ll explain myself- or, feel free to skip to the end for the actual question.

For the last couple of weeks, God has been telling me to do a particular thing. And not just telling me, but also providing the means, opportunities, and encouragement from others to get it done. I was a little slow on the uptake, but I did finally do it. And as soon as it was finished, a wonderful, amazing, impossible thing happened in my life.

So! I had to tell people. If you’ve ever experienced God really working in your life, I’m sure you understand- it’s exciting! It’s got to be shared, how good the Lord is!

Except. There are two common reactions I personally have gotten when this has happened, and yesterday I got them both.

1. The person you tell is kind and polite about what you’ve said, but they clearly don’t really know how to respond, so they move on pretty quickly when you’re still reeling from what you experienced. They may fully believe you, and they may be truly pleased that you shared with them. Or they may think you’re a nutcase but don’t want to hurt your feelings.

2. The person you tell immediately begins to explain why/how the thing happened, clearly skeptical of God’s involvement in such a minor thing. Or they tell you outright that you’re exaggerating how things happened, or God’s interest in your mundane life.

Now- in my own experience among Christians, this happens fairly often. Not usually to me, but I see it going on; someone gives God the credit for a wonderful thing, other Christians are quick to point the praise back on the person (maybe the person earned it, worked hard, deserved a break, whatever). Or somebody shares a bit of their testimony; other Christians are quick to point out how things could have happened by earthly means.

Whatever the situation, and however clearly God’s work is shown, there always seems to be more skeptical Christians than ones who are ready, willing and able to stand and praise God with us.

TL;DR
Christians, on the whole, as a group, do a lot of weird, conflicting things. The skepticism I talked about is just one of many “quirks”- are there things you’ve personally noticed among fellow Christians that have left you scratching your head?
 
MissCris said:
For the last couple of weeks, God has been telling me to do a particular thing. And not just telling me, but also providing the means, opportunities, and encouragement from others to get it done. I was a little slow on the uptake, but I did finally do it. And as soon as it was finished, a wonderful, amazing, impossible thing happened in my life.
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I want to hear that story :):D:)
 
Yes, I agree Ms. Cris... I usually don't tell people things anymore when I feel God showed me something or helped me with something because I'm usually told that its just coincidence or that there's a logical explanation for it..

But I've found that there are certain people who are very receptive and agree with me that it is God, and I can pretty much count on them appreciating what I tell them, and they are also the most faithful/devoted people I know.
 
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I'll have a proper comment later (probably in the vein of those overly logical explanatory types). Just posting now so I dont forget to come back.
 
MissCris said:
So! I had to tell people. If you’ve ever experienced God really working in your life, I’m sure you understand- it’s exciting! It’s got to be shared, how good the Lord is!

Except. There are two common reactions I personally have gotten when this has happened, and yesterday I got them both.

1. The person you tell is kind and polite about what you’ve said, but they clearly don’t really know how to respond, so they move on pretty quickly when you’re still reeling from what you experienced. They may fully believe you, and they may be truly pleased that you shared with them. Or they may think you’re a nutcase but don’t want to hurt your feelings.

2. The person you tell immediately begins to explain why/how the thing happened, clearly skeptical of God’s involvement in such a minor thing. Or they tell you outright that you’re exaggerating how things happened, or God’s interest in your mundane life.

Now- in my own experience among Christians, this happens fairly often. Not usually to me, but I see it going on; someone gives God the credit for a wonderful thing, other Christians are quick to point the praise back on the person (maybe the person earned it, worked hard, deserved a break, whatever). Or somebody shares a bit of their testimony; other Christians are quick to point out how things could have happened by earthly means.

Whatever the situation, and however clearly God’s work is shown, there always seems to be more skeptical Christians than ones who are ready, willing and able to stand and praise God with us.
Click to expand...

I've now thought about this long enough that I think I can sum it up in one word... disappointment. We all live with unmet expectations of both God and ourselves and unanswered (or if you prefer not getting the answer we wanted or expected) prayers. So it is difficult to hear about God working in someone else's life when he didn't do that for us. And instead of just being happy for you that God did something awesome, I'm also left wondering why he didn't do that for me. Was I not worthy? Is God not really like that? And I think all too often we get busy protecting ourselves from the pain of disappointment and feeling rejected or outcast so we try to excuse and minimize God's awesome work in your life because it means then we don't have to reckon with the disappointments in ours.

(Note: all me's and you's above are hypothetical terms and in no way meant to reflect on Miss Cris and her situation; I have no idea what it was specifically God did for her but I'm glad he's brought more joy and excitement and blessing into her life. Also very glad she's back to entertain us with her life stories).

(Note 2: I don't think any of the questions posed are necessarily answerable or good questions to ask. They're just the ones almost every person does ask themselves (or answer before they've even asked it) in such situations)
 
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Me thinks Cinder is on the money.

While we are spoiled and exceedingly blessed in our Pentecostal
Fellowship with an abundance of healings and miracles that does
not mean that I or anyone else has a 100% success rate with
answered prayers.

No one in the Fellowship doubts another person's testimony to
the provision by God of miracles; but sometimes when one
is struggling for a long time with an unfulfilled healing or need
then it does raise questions on the lines of "why hasn't God
given me that blessing?"

God deals with everybody individually by faith and through
a person's walk with the Lord.
But we are social creatures and can't but help measure
ourselves against others.
Wrong, but we do it.
 
Well MissCris, I think it is absurd that anyone would not think everything in the believers life is not fully observed and controlled by God. The verse in my signature below (Romans 8:28) show us this. How could that be true unless God were guiding it so. Also: Luke 12:7: "But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." :cool:
 
cinder said:
I've now thought about this long enough that I think I can sum it up in one word... disappointment. We all live with unmet expectations of both God and ourselves and unanswered (or if you prefer not getting the answer we wanted or expected) prayers. So it is difficult to hear about God working in someone else's life when he didn't do that for us. And instead of just being happy for you that God did something awesome, I'm also left wondering why he didn't do that for me. Was I not worthy? Is God not really like that? And I think all too often we get busy protecting ourselves from the pain of disappointment and feeling rejected or outcast so we try to excuse and minimize God's awesome work in your life because it means then we don't have to reckon with the disappointments in ours.

(Note: all me's and you's above are hypothetical terms and in no way meant to reflect on Miss Cris and her situation; I have no idea what it was specifically God did for her but I'm glad he's brought more joy and excitement and blessing into her life. Also very glad she's back to entertain us with her life stories).

(Note 2: I don't think any of the questions posed are necessarily answerable or good questions to ask. They're just the ones almost every person does ask themselves (or answer before they've even asked it) in such situations)
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Yes. This is why I think it's a good practice to end our prayers with "God's will be done". We don't know what God's will is. And we don't know whether our little worldly wants and desires are consistent with God's will. Besides, if Jesus prayed this way it's probably not a bad idea for us to follow his example:

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42)
 
Imho, I've had God deal with me in the same way. Tell me to do something and give the perfect opportunity. I learned after the first time never to hesitate when He asks something of me. Something else I learned, is to thank Jesus for the opportunity to do His perfect will. It doesn't matter what a person would think about me...my job is to plant the seeds and God will do the rest!
Would love to hear the story though!
 
Christians trust God but are often wary of people.. So they have no problem believing in the message of the Bible but they do take with a gain of salt any message about miraculous events other people may report.. It's not that they know the report is wrong.. It's just that they are not 100% assured that it is right.. So they take a cautious approach.. They can be happy for the other person because they have experienced something to help bolster their faith.. But for them personally without 100% assurance of the event they cannot get excited about it to the extent the teller of the story does..
 
cinder said:
I've now thought about this long enough that I think I can sum it up in one word... disappointment. We all live with unmet expectations of both God and ourselves and unanswered (or if you prefer not getting the answer we wanted or expected) prayers. So it is difficult to hear about God working in someone else's life when he didn't do that for us. And instead of just being happy for you that God did something awesome, I'm also left wondering why he didn't do that for me. Was I not worthy? Is God not really like that? And I think all too often we get busy protecting ourselves from the pain of disappointment and feeling rejected or outcast so we try to excuse and minimize God's awesome work in your life because it means then we don't have to reckon with the disappointments in ours.

(Note: all me's and you's above are hypothetical terms and in no way meant to reflect on Miss Cris and her situation; I have no idea what it was specifically God did for her but I'm glad he's brought more joy and excitement and blessing into her life. Also very glad she's back to entertain us with her life stories).

(Note 2: I don't think any of the questions posed are necessarily answerable or good questions to ask. They're just the ones almost every person does ask themselves (or answer before they've even asked it) in such situations)
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This makes so much sense. And when you explain it that way, I can see that I’ve done the exact same thing to other people. Which makes me a prime example of a Christian doing/saying conflicting things...and I’ve just learned something about myself that I couldn’t see before. Thank you for taking time to think this over and respond :D
 
It is probably also that so many people know someone who sees spirits in everything. If they have a check bounce at the bank, "Oh I know I had a thousand bucks in this account last week... the devil is in this place! I come against you in the name of..." Hmm, come against those bad checks you been writing.

Super-spiritual people who try to make everything an act of God or the devil create a whole lot of skepticism everywhere they go. Sometimes I find myself coming up with perfectly rational explanations for things that could very well be miracles, because I know some people who always see miracles and demons in everything.
 
Flat Earth Christians are to me the most puzzling group in our (not-so-)little Christian cohort.

I think 99.9% of people know why...

(Btw I don't hate them, I just find them to be quite a curious bunch. Pls don't h8 me k thx bye)
 
WineRose said:
Flat Earth Christians are to me the most puzzling group in our (not-so-)little Christian cohort.

I think 99.9% of people know why...

(Btw I don't hate them, I just find them to be quite a curious bunch. Pls don't h8 me k thx bye)
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Yeah they just believe what they believe though some might be trolls ,they have well "rounded" personalities,but they "flat" out have quite the mission though.
I personally think it's rather silly either way I mean whether flat earth or round earth or flat round earth,it's still where we live and it doesn't change the events of the bible or how anyone lives.
 
Lynx said:
It is probably also that so many people know someone who sees spirits in everything. If they have a check bounce at the bank, "Oh I know I had a thousand bucks in this account last week... the devil is in this place! I come against you in the name of..." Hmm, come against those bad checks you been writing.

Super-spiritual people who try to make everything an act of God or the devil create a whole lot of skepticism everywhere they go. Sometimes I find myself coming up with perfectly rational explanations for things that could very well be miracles, because I know some people who always see miracles and demons in everything.
Click to expand...

This is a really good point- it’s been so long since I spent a lot of time around anyone but family, I think I’ve forgotten that there are people who do this. But now I’m remembering a few folks who were like this; they were always quick to say they were under spiritual attack every time anything bad happened. Rough week? The enemy has been really after them. Flat tire? Satan did it. Been feeling a little down? Demonic oppression.

I believe these things do happen- but is it Really a spiritual attack every time your car breaks down (often after months or years of neglecting to get it serviced at all), or when your family catches the nasty cold that has been going around? Probably not. Calm down. Sometimes, crappy circumstances are just...crappy circumstances. The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike.
 
The Funny thing about believers...
We show up on time for food.:cool:
 
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