We must make sound judgments in our dealings with the world, because we need to pursue righteousness. God's standards are high, and He does expect non-Christians to adhere to morality. Our behaviour matters, our intent matters, and justice is found in Christ. Our character is judged by our behaviour, and we need to do our best to exemplify our faith through the things we do. That's all others can use to understand who we are.
We must make sound judgments in our dealings with the world, because we need to pursue righteousness.
It's hard, because society today considers us hateful if we don't toe the line of relativism (what even, that doesn't make sense). But we answer to God in the end, and it's important to hold firm to His standards.
God's standards apply to the whole world. He gave us morality. We can and do legislate morality, by the way; that's what laws are. And ignoring that legislation often follows the rules set forth in Scripture is very silly.
Way back when I was working at A&W in Jasper in between second and third year university, one of my new friends and coworkers gave me a necklace of a Celtic rune that means "strength". She was not a Christian, but she gave it to me because she felt that it aligned with my strength of character. For years--decades, even--I would wear it as a necklace or as a bracelet to remind myself that I was strong.
That strength of character my friend saw is something we all need to have. Society doesn't see us as being anything but hypocrites when our behaviour doesn't match up with the values we say we espouse or the morals we preach as coming from God. (Also, that necklace was not the first or last time that a non-Christian friend gave me a gift related to my faith.)
I think we need to make sure our focus is on God, first and foremost. What would God have me do in each confusing situation I find myself in (or get myself into)? Pray for guidance. Pray for the right words to say. Do my best to treat others as God would have me treat them--with love, with dignity--without agreeing with any of the lies they may have absorbed.
I asked a couple of friends once why they had stopped attending church, and one of them said it was because they had been treated poorly by people at their church (including their parents), and another said it was because they weren't sure if they really believed the things being said at church. That didn't give me any guidance as to how I might be able to help them return to faith (or gain it), but it did give me some interesting information about how people fall away.
We have to be sure to treat others well and to hold them to God's standards, but we also need to hold ourselves to those same standards. If we are not meeting God's expectations, we can't help anyone else do it. But if we're all struggling together, that's a different thing entirely. That's the Body of Christ. That's the Church using its strengths to build up its weaknesses so that it can reach out to the world and show them Truth and life.
I'm not always a great friend. Remembering to reach out and contact people is hard. But I do try, and when I am able to spend time with my friends I try to make sure that I listen to them as much as possible.
I'm sorry. This post is kind of all over the place. I keep thinking of other things I want to say, and it doesn't necessarily flow very well. But I hope something here made sense.
Peace & Blessings.
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