You catch more flys with honey than with vinegar

This is an old quote that we have probably heard from our grandparents - if it is new to you, believe me that it is an old quote :)

This is also a true quote and one that more people should pay attention to. Generally speaking people today are not very friendly, all of us are more rushed than we used to be, partly because the pace of this world - I find the increased speed communication and business in this age of information has made too many people impersonal and demanding. More of us should slow down and take time to be friendly, have some personal contact with someone that is pleasant and kind, even to smile and say hello would be great. Imagine what this world could become if we would be just a little kinder and a have a little more courtesy and respect when we interact with people.

The above is my general opinion of a big lack in our society - now I will share how my burden as a Christian, as a follower of Christ. My prayer is that Christians will stop being so hung up on what is wrong with people and stop being so against everything.

Let me pause and qualify; I am not suggesting there be no standards nor am I saying we should not stand against sin and wrongdoing - we need to know the difference between right and wrong and we need to stand up for what is right.

My burden comes from what I have experienced and witnessed for years, and from what kind of poor practices I have engaged in earlier in my Christian life. We need to stop being people who say no to everything, or represent a position that is always coming against something or someone. It would be great if believers in Christ could truly practice hating sin, but loving the sinner. However, more times than not what is communicated is hatred for the sinner.

Let's be real here, if a person does not have a revelation of sin being wrong, they are not going to be able to relate to the standards of morality and just stop sinning because some Christian preaches and shares from the Bible. Too many times the message for purity and right living comes across as legalism, or people hear that doing "religious works" is the answer. As believers we need to learn a way to be more effective in communication and evangelism and not just hit people over the head with the Bible or condemn them as being sinners who are going to hell.

We can not let our message only be focused on the negative. We need to find a better point of balance where we can present a kinder and more grace filled message. Maybe we can practice more love and service and do more to help others and find ways to reach them with care. When I read the accounts of Jesus in the gospels I see the only people he rallied on were the religious and proud people. To those who were in sin, He reached out with compassion and service - but He also told them to stop sinning. He found a way to love the sinners while hating sin.

This is not about watering down the gospel message - the fact is that if a person does not have a personal relationship with Jesus they are not saved and they are hell bound. What I am presenting is a challenge to start thinking more about rescuing people and more about presenting what it is to live a full and abundant life in Christ (see John 10:10).

My conviction is that if we as the Church, the body of Christ, Christians, etc would really start responding to Jesus on a personal level, return to our first love, and passionately pursue our relationship with the Lord - that our lives would be different. If we really walked in Christ we would be demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5), we would have signs following (Mk 16), and we would show Christ in us and the hope of glory (Col 1:27). If we would practice loving one another and sharing with one another of the hope that is in Christ (1 Pet 3:15) we might see the people without Christ starting to take notice - in fact I believe if we really practiced the Love of God, that people would be streaming into the Church.

The world is a hard and a cruel place, and there is no hope there. People are not dumb, they know how bad it is, they even know how bad they are - but what they don't know is that Christ is alive in the earth today and that He loves them. Let's start being that message of hope, of love, of kindness... let's see what we can do to make a positive difference in this world by loving and giving and serving, just like Jesus did.