Opinion

Written by cycleguy on October 22nd, 2012

Seems like everyone (except me of course)  😀 wants to share their opinion…whether you want it or not.  I’d like to give you two scenarios from this past Saturday’s Hilly Hundred ride and get…are you ready?…

YOUR OPINION!!

Being able to freely give an opinion ought to make some people happier than a fox in a hen house.  I’ll give you the two scenarios and then ask your opinion on how they were handled.

SCENARIO #1

It was about 1:00 and we were climbing a long hill.  My riding buddy, Sean, was behind me as I came up next to a young lady, probably in her late teens/early 20s.  I asked her if she was okay and she said, “Yes.  Doing a lot better this year than the last two.  I have a different bike.”  We made small talk about her old bikes and then she said,  “But I have to be at a wedding at 4:30 today.”  When I asked her where it was she said, “Bloomington.”  I told her she would be fine and then she started talking about the wedding and how she would hope she can dance.  I told her as young as she is she would recover quickly.  “Are you riding tomorrow?” I asked.  “No, my dad is trying to get my brother to ride with him. Besides, I won’t be worth shooting tomorrow.”  I chuckled thinking it was because of riding then dancing and commented as such.  Her words: “No, after a night of dancing and drinking I won’t be worth shooting.”

Your opinion: what do you say next?  Do you tell her she shouldn’t do those things?  Do you tell her she would feel better not drinking (to excess).   Or do you just not say anything?

SCENARIO #2

When Sean and I arrived Saturday morning, a lady parked next to me was also gearing up for the ride.  We exchanged pleasantries and then rode out.  When we arrived back “home” she was also unwinding from her ride.  I asked her how her ride went and here’s a short recap:  Her name was Kyle.  She slept in her Lexus SUV Friday night and planned on doing so Saturday night as well.  She asked us if we were going to ride Sunday and I said, “No ma’m.  I have other responsibilities.”  She pressed and I told her that I would be preaching.  She asked me what I did. 😉  “I am a pastor of a local church.”  “Where?”  “In Spencer.”  Then the usual “Name/what kind of church is it” questions followed and she told me/us she had attended a church in Indy, but moved to Carmel and now attended a church I had heard of.  She was fun to talk to and seemed to have a love for Jesus.

Your opinion: should I have invited her to worship with us on Sunday morning instead of riding a bike? Did I miss an opportunity?

I am curious to see how you would have handled those two situations.

Even stranger: one lady had a false pair of fake buns attached to the back of her cycling shorts.  One guy asked her if he could get a picture of her a**.  Yeah, I do ride with some strange people.  😛

 

27 Comments so far ↓

  1. Steve Martin says:

    The 1st one, I would have said, ‘I did plenty of that in my day’…glad that is over with. Be careful. Oh…by the way…do you know how many gallons of wine Jesus made for the wedding party at Cana?’

    The 2nd one, I would have said, ‘You’re always welcome to come and hear how a cyclin’ preacher peddles Christ to his flock.’

  2. You remind me something from years ago. A new friend of the extended family moved closer to our branch of the family so we stepped in to be his local “family” type connection in the area. He happened to be a single doctor. It was funny that it seemed awkward at first to be around him. In conversation we would somehow mention his Peterson almost nervously, etc. Finally one day he said, “you know, you have made reference to the doctor thing a few times now. The only ones bothered by it are you. It’s no big deal to me.”

    I guess what I’m saying is that maybe you do the opposite. Maybe you are so afraid that you will make someone uncomfortable (when that is the last thing you want) that you go overboard to protect them. Assuming you are able to tune into the Holy Spirit, I’d say send up a lightning sputtered prayer when faced with such things and try to steel His leading in each individual situation. You may just as easily be facing someone who is, lol, meekly seeking, as the feared easily offended person.

    Just a thought.

    • cycleguy says:

      Not sure who you are MS but do appreciate your thoughts. I am able to tune into the HS so do appreciate your words about the lightning sputtered prayer. I think in another setting it may have been more appropriate to say something (by that time I think she was done talking). The lady in the SUV seemed to be already involved in her faith. Thanks for the comment.

  3. In scenario #1, you could have said that you know someone that offers better drink than she would have.
    In #2, I think a simple invitation would have been fine.

  4. jeff says:

    I am not much of a chit chatter so on the first one I would have probably just wished her a good time, and assumed she was old enough to make her own decisions about how to conduct herself.
    I don’t see anything wrong with extending an invitation to the second one. Nothing wrong with making a sales pitch.

  5. Daniel says:

    Opinion #1 : As a Christian, there is absolutely nothing wrong with dancing and having a few drinks. Drinking to excess is the issue. I would only have cautioned her to no overdo it and not to get behind the wheel (or handle bars) even if only having a few.

    Opinion #2 : You could have invited her. But the fact that you didn’t shouldn’t cause you to lose any sleep.

    • cycleguy says:

      I have no problem with it either Daniel. It was her comment about “not worth shooting” that gave me cause for concern. Never thought of the getting behind the wheel or handlebars idea. 🙂 I didn’t lose any sleep. It was lights out pretty quickly.

  6. floyd says:

    Those are tough questions. Without being there it makes it almost impossible. I think the Spirit leads in those type of situations. If God didn’t prod you to speak, my guess is that you did the right thing. It’s a small world. I have a hunch you’ll see rider number two again and as I type that it occurs to me that God might have number one in mind as well, in which case your lack of words will be the perfect response.

    • cycleguy says:

      Other than casual conversation with cyclist #1 I never went any further. Maybe some day… As for #2: she is involved in a church and I said, “Good for you.”

  7. Betty Draper says:

    Scenario 1…enjoy the wedding but be safe, don’t drink and drive.

    Scenario 2…glad you found a church.

  8. In scenario 1, I would’ve probably just let it go. You don’t really have time to communicate in a loving way without someone reading a lot into your motives.

    In scenario 2, I’d tell her she’s welcome to come down anytime she wants. If you do it very lightheartedly, it should be fine.

  9. Desert Jim says:

    I think in both situations, you have to consider the context of your surroundings and what people are there to do. I’m sure the first person did not want to be preached at on a bike ride. Especially up a hill – I don’t know how either of you had any wind to talk riding up a hill.

    The second person was in town to ride and not attend church. She sounds like the kind of person who could have had a great worship experience with God on her bike Sunday.

  10. Ed says:

    I would simply have said “Don’t overdo yourself.”

    On the Saturday morning ride you did fine. The fact that she was riding instead of attending church could be a spiritual break for her.

    I think that fact that we run into Christians who don’t attend our own church is great. We always ask/mention what church we go to, but is that why we are Christians? Because we go to church? Or are we Christians because we love Jesus Christ, God, and others?

  11. Larry Hehn says:

    Scenario 1 I would have said in a smiling, upbeat, non-judgmental, poking fun kind of way, “Y’know…you don’t have to drink…” (picture a sincere friendly, smiling face as I’m saying it).

    Scenario 2 I would have extended an open invitation for any Sunday, not to compete with her current church, but just to be friendly.

    Interesting, I didn’t have to think twice about this. Those were my knee-jerk reactions.

    • Larry Hehn says:

      Sorry, meant to add that I normally have to mull these things over to come up with a response. And probably would second-guess myself after too!

      • cycleguy says:

        Thanks for the suggestions Larry. This is where I wish I could have seen ahead what was going to happen and have the words available. I feel I did encourage the lady from the other church (plus it is over 60 miles away). I do a lot of second guessing. Thanks for coming by. It has been awhile.

  12. Debbie says:

    Liking you putting this up here for our opinions . ..that speaks of a confidence in Christ, right there. 🙂 I think you handled each one just the way He intended you to. So God bless you! Great job!

  13. Susan says:

    I don’t think I can tell someone else what to do in any given situation. The best thing in any given situation is to listen to the Holy Spirit and get your direction from there. Generally speaking, I am hesitant to give advice or invitations to people with whom I do not have a relationship and even then only as the Holy Spirit moves.