Super Spiritual

The other day I was walking downtown and bumped into an old acquaintance.  I asked how he was doing and before I could finish my question, he immediately responded with, “Praise God, Jesus is alive!“

To which I said, “Yep, He is. How have you been?”

Once again, no sooner than the words came out of my mouth, he said, “I’m blessed to have eternal security, brother.”

Not feeling like we were getting anywhere with the conversation, I prodded further, “How’s your family?”

He responded, “Walking by faith and not by sight.”

Not to be sacrilegious, but I was getting really frustrated with the pious responses.  I wasn’t sure if maybe he’d had some type of near-death experience that I didn’t know about, or maybe he was practicing some type of evangelism technique.  So, I decided to ask a more specific question, “How are things with your job?”

“God is so good. I’m blessed to be alive, and to be a child of the Father, and to know the risen Savior.“, He replied.

I finally just gave up, told him goodbye, got in my truck, and drove away…discouraged. Honestly, I have no idea what my friend said, and I wonder if He did either?  He never did answer any of my questions.  Instead, he just spit out a bunch of super-spiritual mumbo-jumbo.

Being “Super Spiritual” is not helpful.  Let me repeat that again…being super spiritual is not helpful. In fact, it just turns people away from God…not toward Him.  It turned me away, and I’m a Pastor.  I can’t imagine how non-believers feel when they hear someone using this kind of language with them.  They must want to “Run, Forest…Run!”

So, what’s the answer?  How do people know that you love Jesus?  It’s simple: John 13:35, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”  There it is…just love people. Help them when they need help. Listen to their story. Tell them God’s story and your story. When they ask questions, don’t give them super-spiritual mumbo-jumbo answers…just be real.

Think about it.