“The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! Acts 5:27-29
In our world, today, there is a lot of controversy over separation of church and state and what that means for Christians exactly. How do we run a business as Christians, but not exclude or offend people. The short answer is, its not entirely possible. As the saying goes, “you can’t please everybody”. No matter what you do, someone isn’t going to like it. Somebody is going to be offended. It seems in today’s society that many people are much more easily offended. As Christians, we don’t want to outright offend people, but at the same time, we can’t bow to the ways of the world either. Customers should know we are Christians by our actions. They should see Jesus in us, and that may offend some people.
Our first responsibility is to God. We cannot go against what we know as Christians, is right. We cannot give in to sin and condone it in any way. We must adhere to the Bible. But, we can do it in a loving way and without being judgmental. (“ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23) Now, not everyone will see it as loving, but we will know it was the right thing and God will know it is the right thing. Sometimes, the right thing will get us in trouble with the world.
But… It is better to please God and offend the world; than to please the world and offend God.
Don’t let the stress of keeping this balance stop you from pursuing your creative passion or your calling. We must also use our gifts and talents to honor God. He doesn’t promise us great rewards while we are on earth. Our rewards will come in heaven. Just follow your calling and where God is leading you. Use the gifts and talents He has given you to the best of your ability. Let God handle the rest. Wherever it leads or whatever results you have, it will be for God’s glory. We may not see or understand how He can use what appears to us to be failures, as tools to glorify Him and His kingdom. But He will.
Go create and give your best to God!
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36
