"Non" (Lessons from a restaurant, Part 2)

"Non"...I have used that word a lot in my lifetime. This is not really considered a frequently used word, so you may be a little curious at this point as to why I've said it a lot. After I explain, you'll see what I mean.

Any restaurant that offers a smoking and a non-smoking section, more than likely when you give the waitress/waiter your name or if you are instantly seated, they will ask you..."Smoking or Non-Smoking"? Our answer is always, "Non". (Before you read on, don't think this is a blog to slam smokers. It's not. Just an illustration I am using to get a point across. Although it's really not good for you! :)

This got me thinking a while back about how choosing to sit with the "non" group, that we are saying to the other group, "we don't want to be anywhere near you" and that "what you do bothers me". I'll be honest, I will still say that. Because for me and my family, I don't want to be around that, and it does bother me. And that's ok. I have a right to choose to stay away from that for my family. But this is where it gets tricky.

What if we (speaking of me and of you) reacted this way everytime about everything? What if, in a group of people, we had the choice of "Christians" or "Non-Christians". That everywhere we went, the question was asked of us..."Christians" or "Non-Christians"? Once again, let me be completely honest with you. I would be wanting to choose "Christians" everytime. I wouldn't be so quick to say that "Non" word this time. That's sad to me when I think about that. It appears that I think more highly of myself than I should. Or is it that "I don't want to be anywhere near them" and "What they do bothers me"? Interesting, isn't it.

Surely you remember the story about the woman at the well. If not, look it up in John 4. Because Jews and Samaritans didn't associate together, the woman was surprised that Jesus would ask her for a drink. I love what Jesus said to her in John 4:14..."but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." As Christians, we have that message to tell others, the "Non"-Christians, what it is to have abundant life. Our goal is to share that living water with as many people as we can. But we won't be able to do that if we never associate with the "Non" group. So that means that we must get out of our comfort zone and do some of those things that make us just a little bit uncomfortable. Don't misunderstand me...I am not saying that we go and take part in sinful actions, behaviors and lifestyles so that we can better associate with the "Non" group. Absolutely not! But we are commanded to love...the sinners...and by the way, that's all of us.

Just in case you're wondering, no, my family is not going to start sitting in the "Smoking" section. No way. It's not good for us. And personally, I've become fond of being able to breathe. But I do, however, have to associate with people that choose to do this. They are people just like me, and some are "Christians" and some are "Non". And those that are "Non" need that drink of water...the water that can give eternal life.

Other than Jesus, you know yourself best. What can you do to get out of your comfort zone just a bit to reach those that are really uncomfortable to reach? What can you do to befriend others that may not be just like you? No, we may not want to be around them and we may not like what they do because it bothers us, but we are no different. Because I guarantee that I do some things from time to time that really bothers God too. And yet He still chooses to associate with me and sit with me. Let's be sure that we don't have that attitude that because we are Christians, that we are better than those who aren't...you know, the "Nons".

"As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me", he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:9-13