I work with many wonderful people, many of which want to convert me. I have gotten invites to multiple Catholic churches, a Baptist Mega Church and a small Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall. I am open to visiting them all. I am not a militant atheist. I do not seek to convert, just to make people think about their place on this big blue marble.
I once visited that Baptist Mega Church because one of the pastors is a friend. He is truly a great guy. He has never been anything but kind to me. He wants to "save" me and not because he is hoping for some brownie points with the magical man upstairs. He wants me to make it to that perfect address in the sky. He has my best interest at heart. I would trust this man with my dogs, and that says a lot.
Once in that Mega Church I ran into a co-worker. He happened to be a volunteer usher. He asked me if I regularly attended his church and I admitted that I didn't. He then asked which church I frequented and why I was at Mega Baptist (not the real name, obviously) that particular Sunday. Again, because I don't lie, I told him that I didn't go to church, but that I was invited by Cool Pastor Dude (also, obviously not his name).
Mr. Coworker/ Usher took it upon himself to warn my Godly coworkers that there was an atheist in their midst. Mr. Usher wants me to become a Christian too, but that has nothing to do with me. Its an after thought, like he hopes it will get him an extra hug from Jesus or something. Recently, the Usher asked me how much money I made and about our referral program. (I make shit, there is no way to sugar coat it). I expected his response to be "you work so hard, I am going to refer you a few of my friends who have been asking about our services to help you." Instead I got "wow, there really isn't enough money there to make it worth my while to refer my friends to you."
Holy Shit! Really? This is what a good Christian man says to someone who is struggling and yet continues to do right by her clients? He didn't give a crap about me (or his friends who should prearrange because it is in their best interest). Nope, he only cared about the money. To make matters worse he approached my Uber Christian friend and asked her the same thing. He was just hedging his bets. Unfortunately for him, we both make shit. I feel I should mention that Mr. Usher is really working with us to have something to do during retirement. He was a higher up in a multimillion dollar company before deciding to retire. He definitely does not need the money.
Since I am dealing with people who wear their religion like a badge of honor; I couldn't help but think WWJD? What would Jesus do? I may not be a religious scholar but I missed the part in the Bible where Jesus asked for a kick back before deciding that he would minister to the wealthy because they had better snacks.
Why is there such a huge difference between being a Christian and being Christ- Like? There are so many people who consider themselves Christians but treat people abominably. Does calling yourself a Christian give you Cart Blanche to be a jerk because you think you are forgiven? Do Christians ever think about this stuff or is this introspection a benefit of being an atheist? Is it my disbelief that forces me to check my own motives and actions instead of judging others? More importantly, how do you tell someone like Mr. Usher that he is missing the whole point of his Sunday mornings?
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