Defiantly Christian: Are You Afraid To Talk About God?

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I’m sure if you have children, you’re a Christian parent. I’m sure that if you’re married, you strive to be a Christian husband or a Christian wife. I’m sure you try to be a Christian child to your parents, honoring them and respecting them.

There is a pressure that’s building - I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels it - a pressure on the soul. It is becoming more perilous, more risky to be a Christian and to openly profess your faith.

Now I want you to think about your work. If you work for a company like Hobby Lobby or Chick Fil-A you’ve pretty much got it made. But if you work anywhere else: Can you talk about God at work? I mean really talk about God. I mean still doing your job, and doing it well: Can you talk about God? Can you talk about faith? Can you witness? Can you testify?

One of my pivotal moments was when I sat down with a friend at work and I ministered to her. I realized right then and there that my friend had my job in her hands. If she had reported me to the human resources department, had she decided that she didn’t agree with something I said, if my particular brand of Christianity didn’t line up with hers, she could call an anonymous number and report me. I would likely lose my job.

In that moment I felt no fear because I know that the Lord was speaking through me and was ministering to this friend who was in need. But that night, I was lying awake and was so afraid, so very, very afraid that I would lose everything.

That is the pressure. That is the soft oppression of the Christian in America today: If the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time hears me profess my faith in Christ, my career is over.

Political correctness, equality of religion and freedom from religion are euphemistic phrases used to justify this soft oppression.

According to CBN's David Gibbs, "Far too often, employers mistakenly treat religious speech like sexual harassment and create a 'zero tolerance' policy for religion that is similar to policies for sexual harassment."

This policy is based on a fallacy, and it stands in stark contrast to the First Amendment freedoms of speech and free expression of religion. The fact that I have feared in the past for my career if I were to overtly express my faith during work demonstrates it.

If you’re not able to speak about God at work, if you’re not able to share testimony with someone you know to be a Christian without looking over your shoulder, who rules you? Does God rule you? Because if God were ruling you, you would testify and share and witness to other Christians and even to those who aren’t Christian.

So who rules you? Are you afraid to talk about God?

Not all people like to talk about God, not all people want to talk about God. We all celebrate our faith and live our faith differently. But do you feel a social pressure to be a “quiet Christian?” To keep it to yourself to be private about your faith? Because if you do, where is that pressure coming from? Is it within you? Is it the idea that it is impolite to talk about your faith? Is it because of the old adage not to talk about politics or religion?

Where does that pressure come from?

I think in my lifetime, we may see a day when carrying a Bible and a cross is more dangerous than being caught with heroin. We may see the day when Americans are put in prison for their faith, when the Constitution is not just ignored, not just bent, not just dishonored but completely broken and abrogated. A nation where freedom of religion has ceased to exist, where regulatory bodies will tell you when you can be a Christian and how and why.

Why is it that in our workplaces, you can pray - but quietly and softly, privately, hidden away. Often times, I think it’s not an unwillingness to show our faith, but an aversion to conflict that gives American Christians pause in a world where it is no longer considered polite, wise or acceptable to be publicly Christian. Defying that notion that is to be defiantly Christian.

Matt Holloway is a Millennial Constitutional Conservative blogger and was appointed a Republican Committeeman for Legislative District 13 in 2015 he is also a member of the Arizona Republican Assembly. Email: TheMattHollowayShow@outlook.com

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