keep your mouth closed...

when i saw this picture of our awesome youth pastor my first thought was...

'oh gosh...i hope he brought a toothbrush.'

Jesus spent time knee-deep in the world's muck...

greedy, lustful, sick, sinful people were all around Him...and He liked it that way!

in Matthew 9:12 Jesus asks 'who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick?'  my answer to that is well...we all do...but the sick need a really good doctor and a whole lot more of his time.  but anyway...

the thing is...Jesus was maybe surrounded by muck...but He didn't take it in.  He kept His mouth closed. 

some Christians, in an effort to relate to the people around them...choose to dive into the muck with a spoon and fork shoveling in as much as they can...just like the unbelievers...and it just doesn't make sense.

when they are surrounded by gossips they gossip.  when they are surrounded by cynics they fill their bellies with negative opinions and end up belching up skepticism.  when they are surrounded by lust they forget to close their mouths and end up devouring poison.

after all...they don't want those around them that haven't been changed by the blood of Jesus to feel awkward.

blech!

what do we as Christ-followers have to offer anyone other than a different life?

please...by all means...dive into the muck of the world.  spend time investing in the people around you.  Jesus didn't call us to sequester ourselves in steam cleaned sanctuaries with stained glass windows...but remember to keep your mouth closed.