In the Baptist tradition, we have a distinctive called individual soul liberty. This states that every person can choose what to believe free of any denominational or state religious control. This distinctive, although often ignored, is the foundation of our tradition. Because of individual soul liberty, everyone has a personal systematic theology which shapes how they see the world. This is demonstrated by the wide variety in beliefs and doctrines found in churches that all call themselves part of the Baptist tradition.
In other words, we all have a right to share what we believe, but we do not have a right to force others to believe the same way we do. We all have a right to promote what we believe is right, but we do not have a right to condescend on those who believe differently.
This is not to say that truth is relative, but rather, everyone is at different points on their journey of faith. That said, not everyone is going to be headed in the same direction at the same time. Often, our spiritual walk with God is less like a straight line and a whole lot more of rerouting back to the right path. This is also not to say that you shouldn’t share the truth. My point is we have to realize where people are at. Let me give an example.
On journeys, think of traveling on the highway:
Some are moving to a new place, leaving behind the old and traveling to the new.
Some are fighting in the car on their journey, others are laughing at jokes.
Some have been traveling longer than others.
Some have been to more places than others.
Some have experienced traumatic wrecks.
Some have taken wrong turns and are correcting.
Some have taken wrong turns and don’t know it.
Some have taken wrong turns and refuse to accept/ask for help.
Some are trying to go fast, while others aren’t so concerned about their pace.
Most are going in different directions to different places.
At any given point on that highway, everyone is on the same road in the same place at the same time.
What’s my point?
You’ve probably heard the statement; life is like a box of chocolates.
Some of it is sweet, some of it is bitter, and some of it is weird but you strangely like it. Life is a journey through those times. Bitter times are hard but there is some value in them if you look hard enough and avoid a nihilistic mindset. Sweet times are few, but you must cherish them when you can. And then there’s the strange times in between.
It is never good to judge someone else by their place in their journey. On the highway you have a many people in the same general area heading in the same general direction, only their destinations are different. Some people have been riding the highway for a few hours, and some a few minutes.
You cannot tell a person’s destination or their drive’s duration by their position on the highway when you are driving right next to them. The same is true in life. You cannot tell the person’s destination that their journey is taking them on, nor can you tell how long they have been on that path.
Moral of the story. Don’t be judging other people based on their spiritual position relative to yours. You don’t know how long they’ve been trying to go down the right path. You don’t know what God has and has not convicted their heart about.
Too many Christians today judge you by their standards; they judge you by their positioning compared to yours. Yes, they may have been traveling for much longer, but they haven’t been through your trials of fire.
Learn to judge yourself based on how God judges you from what He has revealed to you. I’m not saying don’t get spiritual counsel, but if people look at your life and never have a positive word of encouragement for you while you are trying the best you know how to live for God, avoid them. Their opinion isn’t worth the air they breathed to say it and they should probably apologize to the trees that made the oxygen they used. Get back to your long journey. Trust God. Follow His heart, not man’s.
In closing, and maybe on a slight tangent, we need to recognize that God has equipped each person differently, and has given them different talents, abilities, and experiences in order for them to do the will that God has for their life. It is not appropriate to expect the hand to do the job of the heart, or the brain the job of the kidney. Let us realize God has made us differently and work together to serve him, rather than tearing each other apart.