00:00So what matters more to us, the opinions of our work colleagues or the opinion of God?
00:08Ultimately, if they know you are a Christian and you stand for what you believe,
00:15they may misunderstand your actions at first, they may misinterpret your actions probably,
00:21they may look at you strange but they will end up respecting you because your actions match your
00:28words. And don't be surprised when a trouble strikes in their life, they will come to you
00:33because they know, oh, this lady means it.
00:44So this question is, it's not really related to the message, but one other thing that I wanted to
00:53ask about, as a Christian, you know, as we're living in this world and we have, you know,
01:01the Lord said that we will be around people who are unbelievers and stuff, right? We can't escape that.
01:07But one of the struggles that I have personally is where you have friends, you know, at work
01:14and other places and they would want you to, to be very, be social with them and like to go
01:21somewhere with them. How as a Christian can you respond to them? You know, if you know that you're
01:30not comfortable, like for me personally, there are places that I don't like to go. I don't want to do
01:36certain things. And, you know, sometimes there will be at work, they'll think that I'm antisocial.
01:42How should I look at that? Should I try to be more friendly to gain their, you know, to help
01:49them
01:50to see Jesus more? Basically, yeah, like as a Christian, how do I respond to an unbeliever and
01:56even Christians who are not following the path? What I would say to you, sister, is this,
02:01a conviction that is not tested is not real. And your reaction when your conviction faces resistance
02:11is the reflection of how genuine it is. In other words, because Christianity is not something that
02:21is merely a hobby for us, it's not merely something by the way, it's not merely something that we can
02:29compartmentalize our lives to divorce ourselves from at certain times with certain people or
02:35certain seasons. Because Christianity is a way of life, the greatest witness you can be to those
02:42who are not believers is to uphold your principles, even in the face of pressure. If you succumb to go
02:49to a place where Jesus would not be welcomed under the guise of being friendly and you want to be
02:56a good
02:56ambassador of Christ to those people, your actions are violating the very thing you are trying to pass
03:03across to them. Because you are indirectly saying, I can violate these principles at certain times
03:09because of social reasons. But our social life doesn't trump our spiritual life. Let people think
03:15you are strange and you remain close to Christ. Let people think you are antisocial and you remain
03:21close to Christ. Let people think what they want to think. In this life, you cannot control people's
03:28opinions of you. Many people may even say nice words to you and then in their home, you don't know
03:33what
03:33they are saying. A lot of people are at work that we will be friendly with. You don't know their
03:40real
03:41view of you. That's why don't take decisions on the basis of what will people say, what will people
03:47think. Do what is right. If you are talking about going to a place that violates your conscience,
03:54the best witness you can be for Christ is to not go.
04:01That's the best way you can be Christ to them. Yes, there is wisdom. I'm not saying that you as
04:07a
04:07Christian could never go out on a social gathering with unbelievers, but you have to have. As I said,
04:14if convictions are genuine, then they must stand. If a conviction can be pushed aside on the face of
04:21societal pressure, then it's not a conviction, it's an opinion. If we believe in something,
04:27the evidence we believe it is reflected when that belief is tested. So what matters more to us,
04:35the opinions of our work colleagues or the opinion of God?
04:41Ultimately, if they know you are a Christian and you stand for what you believe, they may
04:51misunderstand your actions at first. They may misinterpret your actions, probably.
04:56They may look at you strange, but they will end up respecting you because your actions match your
05:02words. And don't be surprised when a trouble strikes in their life, they will come to you
05:08because they know, oh, this lady means it. This lady is not just a Christian by mouth. It's like some
05:15of
05:15us, we say we are Christians, but then the choices we make, the decisions we take, the relationships we
05:23keep, the places we go contradicts our declaration. Who are we deceiving? Is it God we are deceiving?
05:32You can deceive man. You cannot deceive God. Let people look at you as strange or look at you as
05:39antisocial. Don't, don't violate your conscience for the sake of man's opinions. Okay. And that will be the best
05:45way to effectively witness in time because you mean it.
05:55Now, what do you do when your conscience is prompted? Do you blame or do you change?
06:03Do you realize, recognize, repent, run back to God? That's the reflection of our health
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