14 Sept 2017 - Are You Scared of Rejection?

A Practicing Christian ch 14 - Are You Scared of Rejection?

This topic hits home for me, because fear of rejection is the number one reason I hesitate to share the Gospel. I definitely agree with the author when he states that it seems easier to evangelise in a distant country than in your own hometown. After all, if you are rejected, turned down, or mocked, it's a pretty safe bet that you won't see those same people the next morning, the morning after next, the one after that, etc.. Rather, you might see them once or twice in the span of a couple weeks and then never see them again.

Of course, as the author also suggested, it can be an amazing training ground to be able to witness at home, too.

Questions

1. Why do some people fear rejection when sharing the Gospel?
1. I can't answer for all people, but for me, conflict stresses me out - especially perceived conflict/grudges/bad feeling. So, then, I find myself living in a manner, not necessarily to appease everybody, but to keep the peace and not foster any ill will or resentment towards me. Of course, this isn't quite what Paul had in mind when he exhorted Christians to keep the peace.
2. So, then, I end up hiding my witness so as to not create a sense of conflict with others in my daily life, particularly if I perceive they are areligious or disdainful towards religion or Christianity. I find myself constantly looking for signs that say "It is safe to be a Christian here," whether they be Christian books on a shelf, a cross on a wall, a piece of jewelry, etc. instead of just being bold and forward in my witness and speaking out without those reassurances being in place.
2. What are some ways you can be more active in sharing your Gospel witness?
1. I need to grow my security and trust in God. I find that my fear of rejection indicates that I place the opinion of men far too highly in my personal validation and identity - above even the validation of God - and I think part of that has to do with the fact that while I interact with God on a fairly regular basis, I don't physically interact with God like I interact with the people in the world around me. There is a cognitive bias in me towards perceiving the immediate, present, and physical as of greater relevance and value than the eternal, intangible, and invisible.
3. What types of rejection did Jesus endure for sharing His good news with others?
1. Societal rejection
2. Familial rejection
1. From God, while on the cross
3. Physical punishment
1. Including death
4. Social and ideological oppression
5. Isolation

1 Timothy 6:1-2

As the white husband of a black woman, scriptures pertaining to the conduct of slaves and masters can be a very touchy subject, given this country's history and how, many times, these passages have been twisted to try to keep slaves passive and subservient.

I will be up front and honest here: The slavery endorsed and enacted during the early colonial period through the entire British Empire, particularly in the British American colonies (but also (and reportedly worse) in the Spanish American colonies) up through the end of the Civil War - most notably the institution of Black-only slavery, as instituted by Gov Berkeley of the Virginia colony following Bacon's Rebellion.

The type of slavery permitted in the Old Testament was a limited-term indentured servitude based on the proximity to the semicentennial "Year of Jubilee", which was a year following the seventh set of seven years, during which the restoration of both property and freedom was written into the Levitical law. That being said, I see no evidence in scripture that many of the Israelites actually obeyed this practice.

Additionally, I see nothing in Scripture endorsing the institution of slavery. Every scriptural reference I know of in the context of slavery deals with how to navigate the pre-existing evil of slavery in a Godly way.

Regardless, until Bacon's Rebellion, a similar indentured servitude-type of slavery was the manner of slavery practices in America, but without the certainty of a Year of Jubilee manner of release and freedom.  After Bacon's Rebellion, with Berkeley's passage of the Virginia Slave Codes of 1705, the already questionable existence of slavery became drastically immoral and ungodly.

In this context, then, we read:

"All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and His teaching will not be blasphemed. Those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but should serve them better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved." - vv. 1-2

So, we have an instruction to those who are already enslaved, that, for the sake and reputation of the name of God, they are to love their masters as themselves, to turn the other cheek, to walk the extra mile, to love and pray for them (to reference different statements Christ made about loving our neighbours and loving our enemies). If the master is not a believer, the idea is that this type of action - loving respect that is otherwise unearned - should bring the master to Christ. If the master is a believer, then Paul writes that slaves should serve their masters as though they were serving their own family.

It's pretty easy to see how this can be taken out of context in support of slaves serving their masters, who call themselves Christians, particularly because this specific passage does not also include an injunction to masters for how they are supposed to be treating their slaves. However, we must remember that this was not the original intent of the passage, but rather it was to encourage those who were already under the institution of slavery to be a witness for Christ in how they served their masters.