Leadership positions have always required with a great deal of responsibility. Or in the case of politicians, a great deal of stealth and cover-up. As part of training for servant leadership, we were told to avoid situations that would allow other people to assume the worst about us. Everyone knows that Christians should be especially careful of the image they project for the world to see, but I can't help but think that we get so cautious that all we end up doing is walking on eggshells and not after Jesus.

For example, (in not quite these words) there is this unspoken expectation that the next time I see a red Silo cup, I should turn and run. Ironically, the night of that message we had those infamous red cups at our Christian gathering. Another taboo is the reason for even having those cups in the first place-- parties. After all, why go to a party if you're not going to drink and lose an article (or two or a few) of clothing? This may be an uncommon response, but to me it makes perfect sense: you go because your friends are going. There is a way to be friends with sinners without engaging in debauchery and sexual immorality. After all, everyone is a sinner. I'm a sinner. So's my pastor. And my (ex-)discipler. We Christians like to talk about "meeting people where they're at," but very few of us are actually willing to do so, for fear of what other people may think of us. We like to pick and choose the parts about Jesus' life to remember and talk about. We forget his first miracle was turning water into wine. Because to the great detriment of our pharasaic pride, Jesus partied. Not in the modern sense of the word. I don't want to blaspheme. He dined with the tax collectors and prostitutes. Believe it or not, even your non-Christian friends that really really like you probably aren't going to feel especially comfortable just sitting down and starting to talk about God and sin and repentance, or going to your youth group or church. Sometimes avoiding these situations altogether doesn't make people think you're a hardcore Christian; it makes them think you're a condescending prick.

Of course, not all of the blame lies with the clergy. In fact, we're all to some extent guilty of triggering this over-consciousness. How so? By being one of those people that makes assumptions all too often-- often for the worst. Although we all know what happens when we assume (tee-hee, hardy-har-har), people inevitably do it anyway. And while reasonable assumptions can simplify math problems, when it comes to people, it's never really a good idea to make assumptions. It's a problem I've encountered just a few times too many in my life.

I was talking to a few of my friends last night, and we got to talking about how at first we thought our one friend, Lee, didn't like us at first. He never really talked to anyone and always took off as soon as possible. Consequently, none of us really tried talking to him, and he logically assumed we didn't like him. And so, there was this mutual understanding of civility and non-friendliness, but really it was a lie. We were all missing out on a great friend. To a certain extent, this happens to most, if not all, of us. We've been so busy muddying up our paradigms with assumptions that we're no longer able to see or appreciate the beauty in reality.

The problem lies not so much in who we are (though we could all do without a few of our vices), but in who other people believe us to be. In a sense, we've isolated ourselves within a one-sided box, and all that it takes to overcome that seemingly insurmountable barrier is to step aside and put down our preconceived notions.