Should We Isolate, Separate or Associate

by Michael Donahoe

It seems that so often we who are Christians get the idea that we are not supposed to associate with people who are not believers. We want to isolate ourselves and separate ourselves from those who see things differently.

At one time I felt the same way. It seemed the institutional church wanted it that way. At that point in time, I wanted to be in church every time the doors were open and I wanted to work for a Christian book store. By doing so, I would constantly be around only Christian people. Boy how my views have changed.

Having been in the church world for many years, I have noticed that a lot of Christian people seem to feel differently about those of a different race, those who are of the LGBTQ family, Atheists, Muslims, Hindu and even other Christian denominations. It felt like whatever denomination or church family we were part of was the only one that was right. I do not want to stereotype anyone, but it seems that many within the church system feel this way.

Fortunately, I have had a change of mind and have come to find that separating ourselves is not what God intended for us. While in the church system, I felt I needed to avoid certain groups of people, but outside the walls of religion I have come to associate with, accept and love people of all walks of life and all religions.

Jesus said he did not want to take his disciples out of the world, yet he said to come out and be separate. What was he talking about? Could he have meant that we were to come out of the religious system and live in this world by the power of the Spirit? Jesus said that we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom of God is within us. If we are following the Spirit of Christ, we no longer need the religious system, a building or a pastor since the Holy Spirit is our teacher and our guide.

We know we are not to separate ourselves from those living in the world, yet we can separate ourselves from the religious system that seems to want to isolate us from those who believe differently. We can share the love of God with all people and allow the Spirit to guide us and teach us.

Jesus did not separate himself from those who thought differently. Rather than being isolated from those who think, believe and act differently than our way of thinking, I feel we should associate with those who think differently and show the love of God to them, yet without the ulterior motive of trying to convert them to our way of thinking.

It is just as in our personal families, there are those who have different views, different beliefs and different lifestyles yet we love them. We are to be the same with those we meet in this world. We can have our different views, beliefs and lifestyles, yet we respect and love them anyway.

Jesus said to love God and love others. He never said we have to agree and be the same. He never said to treat those who are different from us with any less love and acceptance. Rather than separate ourselves and make it look like we think we are better than everyone else, we should allow the Spirit to live through us showing the love of God to everyone.

Not everyone is going to believe like we do or accept our way of thinking. Jesus never said to only associate with like-minded people. We are to love God and love others, showing them that God loves them just as much. Whether we believe the same or not we are all humans created and loved by God. We are to share the love we have for God with all people and with one another remembering that Jesus said, “by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”.