Being caught at you most weakest moment

[IamsSon]

Being caught at you most weakest moment

What makes a person stronger?

IE - A guy who's only job was working in Mc Donalds but he was wild, and he ran around with all the bad boys in town, he drank, stole, and took drugs and upset his mother and can't keep a girlfriend because girls are put off by his ill behaviour

One day he meets a stranger who tells him that the only reason why his life is like this, is because he is listening to satan. He goes on to tell this guy, that if he lets himself turn over to Jesus, his life will change for the best and get a lot better

He befriends this guy and weeks go by, all of a sudden, the guy that worked in Mc Donalds, no longer drinks, no longer takes drugs and he has ditched the gang he once hung out with..and now has new religious friends to go around preaching with..and he has a new Job, he is now working in Burger King

.

Instead of hanging around guys that drink and take drugs, he preaches jesus to them, and gets a hiding for it, so he tells them, they are going to hell, doesn't help for they hit him again. He then goes home and preaches to his family look I have found Jesus, repent and you will join me one day in heaven. His family think its Good he has stopped the drinking and bad habits, but tell him they are happy with the path they chose, so he tells his mother she will suffer in hell. He doesn't care that it upsets her, for he will state its just his new belief

He still can't get a girlfriend, for they are put off by what looks like arrogance telling them they will burn in hell.

So what has changed for this guy??

Well he hung out with bad boys that people liked to avoid..........now hanging around new guys that people still avoid(not to forget he got beaten up)

He used to upset him momma with his arrogance.......again just upset her by telling his mom she is going to hell

People used to avoid him and his gang on the streets............Now they still avoid him and his gang on the street

Ohh and he went from working in one fast food joint .........to another fast food joint

So what really has changed?

Would it have been easier, just to stop acting the jerk all the time, go back to school and get proper education, and be a lot more respectful towards him mom, and found friends to hang out with that were just normal and never annoyed anyone....and finally found a good job that paid him 4 times the wages he earned in the fast food joint --would make me a lot happier...do you really have to be strong minded to do this?

What if you were a stripper that worked in a bar, and you used to get yourself into fights when drinking and you winded up pregnant and a single mom....someone convinces you that if you had Jesus, this would not be your way of life.....so you turn to jesus, stopped stripping, but you still fight with people verbally, and you find a new job in a different bar, not to forget you are still a single mom <--what has really changed you?? <--just another example...what if you had of just bettered yourself, by gaining a better qualification, got yourself a better job and found a decent guy to be with all on your own??

I know not all Christians do this.for there are those that get on with life and do not bother people with anything.and they are very happy with how their life is .......but I was just making this up as an example, for I know a few that did have crappy jobs and crappy lives....changed to find Jesus and still remained no different than they are now

Is it really easy to convert someone when their lives are sinking really low? Or is it easier to overcome all your own troubles and work things out yourself?

So, what's different? Well, you are no longer living just for your selfish desires, you are no longer living a life with absolutely no meaning beyond whatever meaning you give it yourself. That is actually a huge difference, and it is what causes people to make changes in their lives that they would never consider otherwise.

[Beckys_Mom]

So, what's different? Well, you are no longer living just for your selfish desires, you are no longer living a life with absolutely no meaning beyond whatever meaning you give it yourself. That is actually a huge difference, and it is what causes people to make changes in their lives that they would never consider otherwise.

What ever you chose to do in life, is purely your OWN choice, and your own desire

[IamsSon]

What ever you chose to do in life, is purely your OWN choice, and your own desire

That may well be true for you, it's not completely true for me. What I do in life, as much as possible (my imperfection gets in the way often) is what God has called me to do in this life. I did make the choice to follow Him and submit to Him.

[+Sherapy]

very common to go from one drug to another , good grief my sister did this so much... therapy would of been a better solution then relgion IMO, religion jsut added to the guilt and feeling horrible about herself.... noone wants to talk about that reality though most woudl rahter it be this form of denial than that form of denial....i would of wanted my sister to have been happy( sister was a herion addict that got murdered for those who don't know my story) to feel she was enough... imagine a drugged out life and someone says if you do this you are worth love i feel it preys on people ...IMO.... I am no stranger to the horrors of life and the differnce is maybe one kind person, one person who finds you lovable, a hug not religion IMO On this i know very well..

Edited September 4, 2007 by Supra Sheri

[MasterPo]

Being caught at you most weakest moment

<SNIPE>Is it really easy to convert someone when their lives are sinking really low? Or is it easier to overcome all your own troubles and work things out yourself?

(When I first saw this thread I thought it was about cults. I have often read that cults on college campuses work like that - targeting kids far from home, lonely, feeling they don't belong. Often lured in by promises of friends, close supporting relationships, the hint of sex, etc.)

I think you're taking a very extreme twist. The person in your example went from one extreme to the other, the end result being the same.

But a lot of people who find religon don't go the extreme. For example, the 12-step program for drug and alcohol addiction relies heavily of faith to get you past the addiction and stay clean. They aren't trying to make you into a Bible-thumper though. Many people have found strength in faith to over come personal obsticles and don't go around telling not-so-religous people they're going to hell.

As a side note, in my life I have found that often those people who profess to be soooooo religous and living the righteous life according to the Bible turn out to be the most cut-throat, back-stabbing, lying/cheating SOB's in work and business you find!

[+Sherapy]

As a side note, in my life I have found that often those people who profess to be soooooo religous and living the righteous life according to the Bible turn out to be the most cut-throat, back-stabbing, lying/cheating SOB's in work and business you find!

i too haven't been impressed with the religious person after drugs, and i know the AA speel by rote the drunk a log the i was sick and tiored of being sick and tired and thats all they talk about sort of like religion .......... i dont' want to genealize as there are some amazing people who are into religion but they are just amazing to begin with i dont' think its the religion its what they bring to it from thier own hearts, often great child hoods good loving parents IMO ...I have met a few in my day and i always say the relgion is lucky to have them, not the other way around ....

[sede-x-teh-bomb]

amen

[Beckys_Mom]

That may well be true for you, it's not completely true for me. What I do in life, as much as possible (my imperfection gets in the way often) is what God has called me to do in this life. I did make the choice to follow Him and submit to Him.

But IAMS you chose to believe in it, and you chose to believe it was right, only you can controll what you follow...thats how everyone is....thats why so so many of us have different faiths...faith is a choice we make, and if you tell yourself, its a calling, then you will believe in it, then your heart feels it too.....

It's the same with love for your partner........you fell for her, you chose to be with her, you chose to marry her and have kids, WHY?? because you felt in your heart it was right to do so, it made you happy....and when something makes you happy, you run with it.............the same with faith

[GreyWeather]

To the OP:

He didn't change because he didn't have to. He now had a reason why he failed in life, and that reason meant he wasn't the cause of it but satan was. Jesus was his ticket out of change, all christianity to him was a new outlook on life. Not a change/new persona to make him a better man.

Faith is meant to help fix and shape man. It's usually took to much to heart and turned into complete truth, not a spiritual truth. People normally can't tell the difference.

[momentarylapseofreason]

(When I first saw this thread I thought it was about cults. I have often read that cults on college campuses work like that - targeting kids far from home, lonely, feeling they don't belong. Often lured in by promises of friends, close supporting relationships, the hint of sex, etc.)

I think you're taking a very extreme twist. The person in your example went from one extreme to the other, the end result being the same.

But a lot of people who find religon don't go the extreme. For example, the 12-step program for drug and alcohol addiction relies heavily of faith to get you past the addiction and stay clean. They aren't trying to make you into a Bible-thumper though. Many people have found strength in faith to over come personal obsticles and don't go around telling not-so-religous people they're going to hell.

As a side note, in my life I have found that often those people who profess to be soooooo religous and living the righteous life according to the Bible turn out to be the most cut-throat, back-stabbing, lying/cheating SOB's in work and business you find!

This has not always been true for me but way too often-about 7out 10 (NOT exaggerating) so called christians have been the meanest or just biggest hypocrites I have ever met. I could tell you stories but there are too many. Christianity seems to be a mask they often hide behind or wear as a badge to be an a**.

It's like this: "I go to church and study the bible so I can't be accused of anything, I'm a god fearing christian !

This is another major factor why I ran for the hills (like Seanph says). I escaped The Village mentality.

Edited September 7, 2007 by momentarylapseofreason