Anyone

Written by cycleguy on October 11th, 2012

Have you ever been around someone who gave you the willies?  Your skin crawled.  The hair on the back of your neck curled.  You shivered.  Your children stared.  You could tell they wanted to say or ask something, but a warning look from you stopped them dead in their tracks.

A lot of times our “feelings” are unreliable.  We ASSUME too much.

ASSUMPTION IS THE MOTHER OF MESS-UPS (to paraphrase a movie line that is not worth repeating in its original form).

We often assume because someone dresses a certain way, has multiple tats, piercings that make us cringe, and dresses totally “out there” (least in our minds), they have to be pigeon-holed into a box.  Not so fast Jesus would say.  🙂  Multiple times He went “where others feared (or simply refused)  to tread.”

I’m so glad that people (myself included) didn’t come with fine print that defined the conditions for acceptance.  Those commercials that end with a speed talker giving the conditions annoy me.  Or it flashes across the screen so fast there is no way under God’s green earth I can catch what it is saying.  Can you imagine if every one of us came with a list of conditions that had to be read before anyone would desire to spend time with us?

Jesus was a master at accepting people as they were, except the religious establishment dudes.  See this incident. Another one is here. I think Jesus failed Dale Carnegie’s course on How to Win Friends and Influence People. But then again, He didn’t care.  🙂

ANYONE MEANS ANYONE

Several years ago I read a book that radically changed my approach to ministry by cementing in my heart and head the approach I wanted to take to my grave.  If you have not read it, DO IT NOW!  Don’t pass Go!  Don’t collect $200.  In fact, I have read it twice and some parts more.

ANYONE MEANS ANYONE AND ANYONE IS WELCOME.

There are some radical ministries doing just that…showing anyone means anyone.  XXXchurchPOTSCHooker for Jesus. And others.  No one did it better, though, than Jesus.  This verse says it all.

As you probably have gathered, my current series is Not A Fan.  My sermon Sunday is Anyone Means Anyone.  No matter the political leanings.  Religious or non-religious leaning. Alcoholic.  Smoker. Divorced. Addict. Homosexual.  I will be stressing that Sunday.  Bonhoeffer once said,

When Jesus bids a man come, he bids him come and die.

Die to self. Die to self-pleasure. Die to the flesh.  Anyone can come.  Even me.  Even you.  Let me ask you: are you prone to assumptions?  Do you make snap judgments about people?  Do what I am going to do this weekend…spend some time reflecting on whether you assume people are a certain “type.”  Thanks for your prayers.

 

24 Comments so far ↓

  1. Daniel says:

    I tend to label folks very quickly. It almost happens at a subconscious level. I survey a room with my eyes and my mind fills with immediate thoughts of: oh that one is ugly, that one is fat, that one walks like a circus freak, that one has a comical comb over, that one is a pig, that one …. Sometimes the more that I try to gain control of my own mind, the more it keeps at this horrible game. I wish I could just accept people and go with the flow.

  2. Naomi says:

    Although brought up in a Christian family they were and still are judgmental. I hope I have managed to shrug this off, it has been a conscious effort but one well worth doing, so what if someone dresses from a charity shop or swears and smokes, they are a child of God and a sibling of ours and we should be prepared to give them the time Jesus would have given them.

    • cycleguy says:

      It is hard to shrug off past judgmentalism. I went to your site and saw your upbringing. I applaude your current approach. it shouldn’t matter what a person wears, etc. Thanks for visiting my blog.

  3. Absolutely, Bill. I don’t assume that they are unreachable, but my assumptions are that I can’t reach them or find common ground. It’s a war. A war that fights between what I know is true and what I should do vs. how I was raised and how I’ve always thought.

    • cycleguy says:

      You are right Larry. It is a war that requires a constant fight. It definitely is determined a lot by our upbringing and what we know to be true.

  4. Steve Martin says:

    We sinners often are not as gracious as our Lord.

    But that’s no excuse for not repenting and trying again (and again).

    ___

    I received a great blessing the other day. I was at a low income housing unit visiting someone and all (many) of their strangest (looking and acting) tenants were outside in an area where I was sitting (they were smoking). They were a very strange and unlovely bunch…on the fringes of society.

    The gift that I received was the realization that I belonged with them. That in God’s eyes I am no different than them. A lost sheep who is in desperate need of a Savior.

  5. Desert Jim says:

    “Anyone can come. Even me.” That says it all right there. Makes me squirm in my seat. I hope that sinks in on Sunday. I am praying for your church.

  6. floyd says:

    Great series. We’re all guilty of this to one degree or another. Due to the way I look and dress, I’m able to have conversations with a diverse type of people. The lifestyle is often the mask for deep seated insecurity. We all have it, some more than others, but God loves all of us… regardless what we look like.

    Thanks for tackling the tough subjects, I’m praying for your sermon on Sunday.

    • cycleguy says:

      I have always said people reach the people with whom they interact. No one can reach them like you. Not me. Not John Doe. You bring that out Floyd. Thanks for your prayers.

  7. jeff says:

    Yes I make assumptions about people. Yes I make snap judgements. I have never met anyone that doesn’t. It is inate in all human beings. Whether it is a defensive mechanism or a belonging mechanism I am not sure. For me it is just a way of deciding who I want to trust or socialize with.
    The problem of judging, which I hope I am not guily of, is when it manifests itself in how we treat people. My judgements are just about who I ignore or who I want to be around or who I trust.
    I hope your message resonates with the kids who are most prone to bullying, demeaning, or otherwise letting their judgements manifest in destructive behavior toward others. And for the adults to eliminate the gossiping, labeling, and derogatory comments they like to spread about people and groups.
    If you say you are a Christian and find yourself repenting a lot you might want to decide what following means.

    • cycleguy says:

      What a great comment Jeff and right on the money! I never thought about the bullying aspect. I will definitely mention that. Thanks.

  8. Susan says:

    It’s amazing how much Jesus can do when we get out of the way. And by out of the way I don’t mean running away.

  9. Man, this is a hard-hitting one. It’s so easy to forget how radical Jesus’s acceptance was – how he was a friend of sinners and tax collectors. Not accepting of their sins, but accepting of their different personalities and cultural rankings. Thought-provoking post, Bill!

  10. Betty Draper says:

    KEEP PREACHING THIS MY BROTHER… Those ones who are unlovely are just like I was…foul mouth, provoctive dresser, cigerette smoking mamma. Thank God, thank God a church had your vision …they came after me with the gospel…they came along beside me and taught how a Godly woman should dress, smell, speak, etc just by their example. There are hundreds of thousand out there just like I was, lost and undone, go get them. (my gift of exhortation kicked)

    The Ground is Level

    You may own earth silver, have riches untold
    But all the world wealth my friend won’t save your soul
    You may live in a mansion, all the world know your name
    But at the foot of the cross my friend, everyone stands the same

    Chorus
    The ground is level at the foot of the cross
    Anyone may come there for there is no cost
    Rich man or poor man, bondman or free
    The ground was leveled that day at Calvary

    You may be a beggar have nothing to wear
    You may eat at a table without one crumb to spare
    But at the foot of the cross my friend you may stand by a king
    Cause all of earth treasures isn’t worth anything

    Chorus again
    This song came into my mind as I read your post, had to share it.

  11. Debbie says:

    I will think that I’m okay, but then He will bring me someone and I’ll realize that I need more grace and understanding about the anyone principle. Thank you for teaching us and encouraging us not to assume and decide for Him. God bless you this Sunday as you bring a message everyone needs to hear!

    • cycleguy says:

      God is like I have noticed. The moment we get comfortable He comes and “wipes the comfort off our face” and challenges us in new ways. Thanks for your thoughts for Sunday.

  12. lindaM says:

    Hi Bill,
    I agree that the cross is for everyone who repents. The cross is not for those who want to continue in prostitution, wickedness, etc.
    The sinners came to Jesus in the Bible. The sinners came to John the Baptist to a baptism of repentance. This is what needs to happen with the fringe of society. Repentance, and forgiveness from God. A new beginning.

    We are not to allow these people to remain in the church without repentance and a real desire and hard effort to move away from their sin. The church should not be a collection of praticing homosexuals and practicing prostitutes.

    For sure the outward appearance does help us to figure out where a person is coming from. Anyone who is adorned with multiple tatoos on their face and arms tells us where this person has been and what their lifestyle has been like. A woman who dresses like a prostitute tells us where her values are, and her unashamedness of sexual invitations and messages that she puts out.

    The outward appearance of a person counts in our assessment. If the person has a testimony of repentance or a determined desire to be set free from their sin, then they can be accepted in the church. otherwise this person will be yeast in the lump and the Bible teaches they will infect the whole body of the church with their ‘yeast’.

    The church is desperate for people to serve it. The church is not ministering to the body of believers. The church is demanding service from believers and is looking for more money to keep the system going. In other words, the church is prepared to take in ‘sinners’ as believers in their midst, without repentance, and change. This is not a good idea.

  13. Mike says:

    Although I do laugh or cringe when I see pictures of Wal-People, I try not to judge them based on their looks alone. I do tend to be a suspicious person, and am usually on guard when out in public. I think that might have a lot to do with spending a lot of my life in Chicago. Can never be too careful there.