Education: The Social Perspective Part III

This is mostly a combination of the social and moral perspectives.

I always thought that people who were not Seventh-day Adventists were people that were not worth my time. They clearly did not have everything figured out and they were so wrong about so many theological truths that they were certainly not to be associated with.

This is the mentality that clouded my head until late in my college career.

At its core, Christianity is about love. If you disagree, take it up with God. Therefore, I should have been taught that people that had different beliefs were still people, and if they appeared to have no regard for Christ or other human beings, I should love them anyway. I never got this impression. With the addiction perspective, maybe my parents and other like them never wanted me to love outside my denomination for fear of losing me. Either way, it's a shame that I was in my twenties before I made any effort to care about somebody's soul. It's a bigger shame that people go their whole lives without reaching that point.

I talk with my wife about the tragedy of having so few friends outside of our Adventist circle, and it really bothers us both that so many people we know and go to church with have no friends beyond denominational lines. Somewhere along the line, the church has taught me and others that it is better to stay within our own pool and never spend time in others'.

The biggest problem? Relation. As a member of the church board and a deacon and elder, I hear a lot of talk about witnessing and evangelism, but so few know how to relate to the people in our community because we've never been plugged in. It's a religious prejudice that keeps us alone and shrinking.

Seeing how Christ spent so much time with known sinners and low-lifes, it seems so plain to do the same--to love as much as we can and as best as we know.