Myth Busting

What Do You Believe?

Do you believe that a new Facebook algorithm only shows you posts from 26 friends?  Or did you hear that a Seattle Seahawks player burned an American flag in the locker room?  Were you warned that romaine lettuce leaves are coated with plastic?  Guess what!  These are all urban legends.

Our guest blogger talks about urban legends and busts some Christian myths.

Busting These Myths

by Mae Jones

Do you know what an urban legend is? It is defined as a story that appears mysteriously and spreads spontaneously in various forms and is usually false; containing elements of humor or horror popularly believed to be true.

You know all those stories you get in your e-mail or on Facebook saying Bill Gates wants to give you money? Not gonna happen, my friend. Or what about the poisonous spider from some strange country which might be hiding under your toilet seat waiting to bite you on your tender behind, or KFC serving up deep fried rats? Yep. Urban legends. There is even a website now where you can go to check if stuff you read about is for real. (snopes.com)

A lot of us have received some bad information about the Christian walk. We seem to be ill equipped and very surprised about the things life throws at us, and we often end up blaming God when we stumble and fall. I’d like to discuss a few Christian Urban Legends (We’’ll call them CUL’s!) Here we go!

CUL#1. Now that I am a Christian, nothing bad is ever going to happen to me again! 

Hmm…. too bad no one told the disciples about that! Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in prison, Peter is said to have been crucified upside down. Christians down through the ages have endured horrible persecution. Jesus told us in John 16:33 that we would have tribulation in this world. Bad stuff happens, but you will not have to face it alone, and you have God’s promise in I Cor. 10:13 that He will never allow you to go through more than you can bear. God also calls us OVERCOMERS. I think that means stuff is going to happen to us that we need to overcome!

CUL#2. I don’t have to do anything except sit back and wait for Jesus to come.

Are you kidding? If that were the case, God would take us right to Heaven after we accepted Him. We are on this earth to accomplish something.
“With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 MSG
We have A LOT to do!

CUL#3. As a Christian, I should have nothing to do with the unsaved.

Uh……. SOMEBODY’S got to tell them about Jesus, and I’m pretty sure it’s us! Of course we are cautioned not to “love the world,” but this is referring to the sinful ways of the world, not people. “Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand–shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 MSG

Too many Christian leaders, motivated by their desire to protect their flock, preach against any kind of “mingling” with the unsaved. They worry that their people may be influenced in a bad way, slip and fall. This is such a wrong mind set. We should let our godliness rub off on the lost, and not the other way around. We should never feel threatened by unbelievers. We are bearers of light and truth in this sick world! We are cautioned not to marry unbelievers, and we should never compromise the truth, but we can’t hide inside the church and expect to win the world!

Thanks for reading, and God bless your day! 

Mae Jones and her husband Warren are missionaries in the country of Denmark.  Mae definitely has a way with words and shares many spiritual insights on her Facebook page.  She hopes to write a book in the near future.

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