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So, I wake up Saturday morning and realize I left my headlights on...Damn, a dead battery.
I open the hood, then get my generator (Harbor freight) battery charger and crank on the gen to get it started. On the 5th pull a suv comes by and a man jumps out WITH A PAMPHLET...(You know who that guy is) He comes to me and says "Good morning I..."
I cut him off with a "You got a pair of jumper cables? I need a jump"
"Well, no I don't"
"Then don't be shoving your crap to me! I need help, not toilet paper!"
So he leaves, THEN turns around and comes back. "I forgot I had this, can I try it?" (Handheld jumper)
"Sure, let's see" Yes it worked, I then thanked him, shook his hand and he left and so did I.
I was still angry, I had to SHAME him into being the "Christian" he was supposed to be.....
James 2:16
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, "Go in peace; stay warm and well fed," but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it is not complemented by action, is dead....
Where do you live that random people walk up with religious pamphlets while you're doing something with your vehicle?
I've only ever seen that sort of thing in train stations.
I have been approached at gas stations in Detroit (Jehovah Witness), on street corners at red lights in Detroit (Nation of Islam), walking through my city's downtown of Brighton (Mormon), and at Farmer's Markets around Livingston County(Church of the Nazarene).
So, I wake up Saturday morning and realize I left my headlights on...Damn, a dead battery.
I open the hood, then get my generator (Harbor freight) battery charger and crank on the gen to get it started. On the 5th pull a suv comes by and a man jumps out WITH A PAMPHLET...(You know who that guy is) He comes to me and says "Good morning I..."
I cut him off with a "You got a pair of jumper cables? I need a jump"
"Well, no I don't"
"Then don't be shoving your crap to me! I need help, not toilet paper!"
So he leaves, THEN turns around and comes back. "I forgot I had this, can I try it?" (Handheld jumper)
"Sure, let's see" Yes it worked, I then thanked him, shook his hand and he left and so did I.
I was still angry, I had to SHAME him into being the "Christian" he was supposed to be.....
Your pressing need was the Word, not jumper cables. A man can live without a car, but he'll surely die without the Word.
John 6
[26] Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
[27] Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Quote:
James 2:16
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, "Go in peace; stay warm and well fed," but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it is not complemented by action, is dead....
The Scripture that you cited was for brothers and sisters in Christ, not unbelievers. With that said, we are to love our enemies and provide help -- but sharing the Word is paramount.
His pressing need was for Jumper cables, not waste paper and fairy -tales.
And the pamphlets...well, you may have a point. Why ...? Surely it's the JW or Mormon thing: It must be not that he was expecting to encounter an atheist but a Christian - but the wrong kind.
Put yourself in that position. You car needs a push. Someone stops, but approaches to shove a tract at you.
"I don't need converting; I'm a Christian. I need some assistance."
That would be annoying enough, but then it turns out you aren't the right kind, and he wants you to change denominations. And still your car needs a push.
His pressing need was for Jumper cables, not waste paper and fairy -tales.
And the pamphlets...well, you may have a point. Why ...? Surely it's the JW or Mormon thing: It must be not that he was expecting to encounter an atheist but a Christian - but the wrong kind.
Put yourself in that position. You car needs a push. Someone stops, but approaches to shove a tract at you.
"I don't need converting; I'm a Christian. I need some assistance."
That would be annoying enough, but then it turns out you aren't the right kind, and he wants you to change denominations. And still your car needs a push.
You don't see a problem here?
yup, just like not being the right kind of atheist. Either we deny everything or we aren't real atheists. heckle everybody or your not a real atheist trooper.
Ok so I grew up in that religion and still, even now, have a tendency to defend them so maybe there is some of this going on but I read your OP and wondered what the heck is wrong with you. YOU look like the ahole in that situation to me.
How is someone to know you need jumper cables unless you ask? What the heck are you doing being so unprepared BTW? So you ask as he says no. You call his religion **** and his pamphlet toilet paper and HE STILL COMES BACK TO HELP YOU. If you had treated me that way I would have held up the handle jumper I remembered I had and drove by you with me middle finger up. So your STILL angry that you had to act like an entitled know it all when someone was going out of there way to help you because they didn't put a bow on it and kiss your little buttbutt.
Did the guy explicitly state that he was "Christian", or give literature with those words? There are religious folks of untold denominations that aren't necessarily Christian. Maybe you're judging and labelling the dude without the specifics.
Where I live, I never encounter religious pandering and paraphernalia, but I've seen plenty of political trash.
In the end, the stranger was a blessing, helping address the car issue, with the added bonus of looking past the hostility. He's a better person by far. We live in a world of angry people, and few kind souls that make a difference in life. In the end, the good deeds and helpful gestures make a difference and will be remembered. The anger and sourness will be forgotten as something to cringe at and reject. Our preferences and choices die with us, but those that make a difference leave treasure behind. Add to life, or take from it.
Last edited by Thoreau424; 04-15-2018 at 06:04 PM..
So, I wake up Saturday morning and realize I left my headlights on...Damn, a dead battery.
I open the hood, then get my generator (Harbor freight) battery charger and crank on the gen to get it started. On the 5th pull a suv comes by and a man jumps out WITH A PAMPHLET...(You know who that guy is) He comes to me and says "Good morning I..."
I cut him off with a "You got a pair of jumper cables? I need a jump"
"Well, no I don't"
"Then don't be shoving your crap to me! I need help, not toilet paper!"
So he leaves, THEN turns around and comes back. "I forgot I had this, can I try it?" (Handheld jumper)
"Sure, let's see" Yes it worked, I then thanked him, shook his hand and he left and so did I.
I was still angry, I had to SHAME him into being the "Christian" he was supposed to be.....
James 2:16
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, "Go in peace; stay warm and well fed," but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it is not complemented by action, is dead....
Well, all I know is that, after reading your story, I had a scenario playing in my mind, where, after your tirade, the guy took his jumper cables, hooked them to your earlobes and threw the power on. Maybe that is the kind of Christian you are looking for? I wouldn't have even stopped to help you in the first place.
I have been approached at gas stations in Detroit (Jehovah Witness), on street corners at red lights in Detroit (Nation of Islam), walking through my city's downtown of Brighton (Mormon), and at Farmer's Markets around Livingston County(Church of the Nazarene).
OK. I see JWs in the train stations, and the Jews for Jesus were in the PATH station below the WTC pre-9/11 but I haven't seen them in the new one, and twice since I moved here JWs have come to the door. I just can't imagine someone walking up with a pamphlet while you're looking at your car, though.
Oh yeah, and the Hare Krishnas have returned to Union Square Park in NYC! Hadn't seen them in decades. They had a group in the subway, too, banging on some instruments. Fun to see. Adds to the NYC flavor.
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Maybe that is the kind of Christian you are looking for? I wouldn't have even stopped to help you in the first place.
