I recently had a discussion with a person on a social media board.  I don’t usually get involved in these discussions because they seldom lead anywhere.  In this particular case, a friend of mine had quoted a verse from a Psalm.  The individual in question felt that my friend was proselytizing.  The individual felt that it was inappropriate for the platform.  Although he never came out and said it, he implied that we should, for the sake of being politically correct, compartmentalize our lives into personal, business, mental and spiritual.  He felt that there is a need for business and religion to be separated. 

I’m not sure that the individual realized that the person that he was accusing of proselytizing was a very well know minister.  I find it awkward that the world we live in expects us to act one way in one situation and totally different in another situation.   How can a person expect for a minister to leave his belief system behind when he is in a business environment?  A minister is in the business of religion whether he perceives it as a business or not.  But then, so are all people that acknowledge their spiritual side.  It is the spiritual nature of our lives that determines the values that we bring to ourselves and everyone else.  If God is our ever-present guide, then how are we to dis-invite him from other portions of our life just because someone might find it inappropriate?  All the decisions we make should involve our relationship with the creator of the universe and when they don’t, we are prone to the inadequacies and frailties of being human.

Speaking from a Christian standpoint, God wants to be involved in every part of our lives.  If we are truly changed, truly one with Christ; how can we justify dividing our lives into portions with God and portions without.  It is difficult for other religions to understand this dichotomy in our lives.  They often feel that we present God in our lives when it is suitable and hide God away when we feel it might seem inappropriate.  They see Christians as using God to our advantage when it suits us and leaving Him out of our lives when it is inconvenient.  After all, if God is the creator of the universe, how can we acknowledge His presence on one hand and ignore it on the other.

Christianity is not a convenience.  Nor is it a tool.  It is not a resource that we pull out when it is convenient.  It is an integrated understanding of God’s presence and practice in our lives; a steadfast belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that we are so loved by God that Jesus gave His life to become a constant presence in our life.  God is God whether we are in church, doing business, playing sports or sitting on the couch.

I would say, if you know me, don’t ask me to leave my belief system at the front door like a pair of shoes.  Those shoes are permanently attached to my feet.  Jesus is permanently attached to my heart.  He and I are inseparable.   There will be times when I forget this.  I am human.  But God never forgets and is consistently moving through me.  I will strive never to quench or hide that light.  It is my relationship with God that gives me purpose.  It is my relationship with Christ that give me value.  Not business.  Not sports.  Not any activity I am involved in.  It is not about whether I bring God to the negotiating table, because I will.  I will also bring my heart, my love for all humanity and my experience.  It is what makes me… me.  You should expect nothing less.