Many Christian readers right now are like,  “Whoa, whoa, WHOA, Mike! Aren’t you a Christian?!” (At least they would, if they knew my name was Mike) And yes, before my friends and family freak out (my entire blogging audience), yeah, I’m a Christian, and yeah I do believe that the Bible is God’s inspired word and the truth above all truths.

But they don’t.

Who’s “they”? They’re the people having sex outside of wedlock. They’re the people who follow a different God. They’re the unsaved, the atheists, and people who think that Coke is better than Pepsi. In short, “they” are anybody you argue with about right and wrong outside Christianity. And when you pull out your almighty argument-ender, “The Bible says so!” they stare back in utter disbelief (and I mean that in every sense).

A hard truth Christians have to realizes is that if someone isn’t a Christian, then they don’t think that the Bible is the end-all-beat-all on truth. They think it’s either A) your opinion, B) outdated, or C) just plain wrong. So saying “The Bible says so” or “God says so” does absolutely nothing in your arguments with an unbeliever. They don’t believe the Bible…I mean isn’t that why you’re arguing in the first place?

So, yeah…cut it out. It’s okay to defend your faith based on what the Bible says because to you, it’s law, but you can’t expect non-Christians to follow the Bible. It’s an obvious thing that too many of us overlook. If you want somebody to follow the Bible, you have to first prove that it’s actually true. How?

The ironic thing about the Bible is that to prove it, you have to show them Jesus outside the Bible. How does Jesus fit in with their daily life? How is he still relevant today? Does he actually care? Is he nothing more than a bunch of rules? Facts alone don’t bring people into churches. Relationships do. It’s a lot harder than just pointing to the Bible and screaming “Undeniable evidence!” but it’s a lot more effective!

Why do people become Christians? Because the Christians loved them more. Why do people become atheists? Because the atheists loved them more.

So the next time you find somebody you think is doing something wrong, first of all, don’t start the conversation by telling them so. “You’re wrong” is no substitute for “Hello!” Second of all, don’t use the Bible to simply state everything they’re doing wrong. Use it to show them there’s a God that actually loves and cares for them. If all you want to do is correct them, then you don’t love them; you just want to be right. But if you bring them love, it might actually change them. Strange, but true!

And if you’re wondering where the Bible says that Pepsi is better than Coke, it’s in the book of Nickelodeon, chapter 3 verse 11. Look it up. (Mic drop)