There is a story about a tug of war between a person standing on a chair and another standing on the ground. If you get in this situation it may be best to change your approach and try witness by your actions and life instead of trying to intervene directly to help the person or persons. You may end up on the floor otherwise. This would be close to casting your Pearl's before pigs.
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so I really feel I’m just going in circles here. am I understanding you correctly that you are suggesting that I sit down, shut up. The exact thing I had been doing with these guys for years with zero fruit from it. Sit down , shut up, and don’t be a problem is the exact way I approached life before I was saved as a quiet unassuming introvert diligently doing “my “ job generally being unconcerned of others. See these guys as I’ve said before in this conversation do not respect civil behavior. The things coming out their mouths are so wicked towards themselves and others I don’t think they realize it. They talk to hear themselves talk weather the person they are talking at is listening or not and the only way they stop is if someone lashes out in verbally with anger. The only thing they seem to respond to between themselves is anger, hate, foul and boisterous language. I don’t know how to reach them. To do anything personal outside of work with them I’d have to start drinking heavily again, pick up smoking, and start being just as foul as they cause that what their social cliches do communally and in doing so I will have polluted myself. I’m stuck on this job with these guys in the same room 9hours a day 50plus hours a week. I spend more time in the presence of these guys than my wife. If silence and minding my own business helped change hearts then in 5 years I would have logically seen some fruit I’d think. I haven’t seen anything from that way. So I feel there is something I’m missing but I can’t figure out what.
There's a difference between a person that behaves inappropriately and one who intentionally goes out of their way to target you so as to undermine your life and personal efforts and religeous growth. If these people are not trying to pull you down as a christian as you seem to imply, then active witnessing to them is good. However with some when you start to witness to them and they begin to learn how important God is to you they may begin to fall into the latter group that I mentioned, which may become hazardous to the christian. The advice I gave above is for if they fall into the latter group. Just living a life for God is not a waste of time. Some say it is the most productive way to witness.
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And it could be that they are going out of their way to undermine though it would be against their professed beliefs . There’s definitely moments that feel that way though . I’m trying to think the best of these individuals because a couple of these mockers are Church attending but then at the same time will curse God and continue on in their ways. They have put up walls between their church life and work life And will not allow even a mention of church life or Jesus conversation to penetrate their work life even in casual conversation about God. If I bring up Jesus casually it can be a sure bet at least one or two will begin mocking the things of God within a few minutes if they stick around after the name is mentioned at all. If Jesus is supposed to be the central theme of what unites believers across denominations and then why is any conversation with these men met with awkwardness, uninterest and many times such vile distain for something they allegedly believe? Are they enjoying their carnality and I’m coming up against that perhaps? Jesus has penetrated every aspect of my life. He is what I live for and center my life on. Everything I do I intentionally place Jesus as the central theme of it, not perfectly but it’s my intention . If they are professing believers why is there so much hostility towards anything God and Jesus from these two more boisterous ones? It’s got me very confused .
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on a similar note regarding exhibiting and living the Christian life in the workplace. I have a very impatient passive aggressive manager who will micromanage one minute and completely go hands off the next that I’m struggling with. He wants an answer about something and wants it right now…. but will not let you finish a sentence to describe what you are doing and . He will talk over a person speaking mid sentence to assert that he wants short quick yes/no answers but then when something comes up unexpectedly and creates a problem for him he turns right back around and belittles, degrades an employee for not telling him things sooner. Things that often if he would have waited to let the sentence be finished he would have been informed about the possibility of said issues . How aught a Christian begin to lovingly approach such a difficult often impossibly impatient and often relationally toxic boss, whom is Church attender as well?
The last two days have probably been the worst two days of my life (and what I am facing looks much worse), so, of course, I found this person today, a month after I started looking for him, when I was not looking for him. I was literally despairing of life when I found him, but I thought that I should try to share the gospel with him anyway.
I approached him, and I asked him how he was feeling because he is extremely skinny. In fact, he looks like he has cancer or something. Had he told me that he was sick, I would have offered to pray for him, and I also would have used that opportunity to ask him what he believes about the afterlife. As it turned out, he told me that he had recently lost 150 lbs. because his doctor told him that his size was somehow negatively affecting his heart. I was about to try to segue the conversation from the natural to the spiritual, and then it happened...
He basically blew me off.
It was almost funny.
Every time that I have ever seen him before, he would be sitting in his car for at least an hour if not for hours. I don't know if he had somewhere to go today or what, but he told me "You have yourself a good day!", and then he just turned and walked away from me.
Well, that didn't help how bad I was feeling already, but maybe today wasn't God's timing.
Whatever...
I approached him, and I asked him how he was feeling because he is extremely skinny. In fact, he looks like he has cancer or something. Had he told me that he was sick, I would have offered to pray for him, and I also would have used that opportunity to ask him what he believes about the afterlife. As it turned out, he told me that he had recently lost 150 lbs. because his doctor told him that his size was somehow negatively affecting his heart. I was about to try to segue the conversation from the natural to the spiritual, and then it happened...
He basically blew me off.
It was almost funny.
Every time that I have ever seen him before, he would be sitting in his car for at least an hour if not for hours. I don't know if he had somewhere to go today or what, but he told me "You have yourself a good day!", and then he just turned and walked away from me.
Well, that didn't help how bad I was feeling already, but maybe today wasn't God's timing.
Whatever...
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I worked briefly at a firm that had some online advertizing consultants as a part of their business, not my line of work, but I sat near them.
One of the guys was commenting on some breasts in one of the ads, making a crude comment about what they looked like, maybe what he wanted to do with them. He had said that he was a deacon at in a church and lead some kind of home group. If I remember right, I rebuked him for encouraging the young men there to sin by ogling the woman. I didn't go over there to look.
I lived overseas, but I can't remember in my part of the country ever hearing anyone use 'Jesus Christ' as if the name were a swear word until maybe a year ago. I have heard it in entertainment media, but they've increased it, and several times in the past years, I've been out at a fast food restaurant or in a store or wherever and I hear people say that.
So what I figure I can do is if I hear someone say "Jesus Christ' like that, I can finish their sentence for them. I can say, "....is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Or just, "Is Lord!" loud enough should do. If they look at you funny, you can say, "Isn't it great that we can finish each other's sentences." I haven't said that part yet.
I was at work and someone sent out a mass email that left a letter out or something of how he addressed us. I didn't even notice it, but the guy sent out an email with 'OMG' in the title and said he didn't mean to call us X. I kept thinking of writing back and saying some of us consider using 'OMG' in an email to be more offensive that calling us X... whatever it was he accidentally typed. I never did. Should I?
One of the guys was commenting on some breasts in one of the ads, making a crude comment about what they looked like, maybe what he wanted to do with them. He had said that he was a deacon at in a church and lead some kind of home group. If I remember right, I rebuked him for encouraging the young men there to sin by ogling the woman. I didn't go over there to look.
I lived overseas, but I can't remember in my part of the country ever hearing anyone use 'Jesus Christ' as if the name were a swear word until maybe a year ago. I have heard it in entertainment media, but they've increased it, and several times in the past years, I've been out at a fast food restaurant or in a store or wherever and I hear people say that.
So what I figure I can do is if I hear someone say "Jesus Christ' like that, I can finish their sentence for them. I can say, "....is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Or just, "Is Lord!" loud enough should do. If they look at you funny, you can say, "Isn't it great that we can finish each other's sentences." I haven't said that part yet.
I was at work and someone sent out a mass email that left a letter out or something of how he addressed us. I didn't even notice it, but the guy sent out an email with 'OMG' in the title and said he didn't mean to call us X. I kept thinking of writing back and saying some of us consider using 'OMG' in an email to be more offensive that calling us X... whatever it was he accidentally typed. I never did. Should I?