Don't want my enemies to come to Christ

gabriellaaaaa said:

Does anyone else feel this way? I know it's not a "Christian" way to feel but I can't help it. I know 1000% in my heart that introducing someone to Christ (and if they actually follow) is the GREATEST gift that could be given to anyone, so I'm always afraid of accidentally being too nice to enemies etc. and then having them come to Christ (to me, that's basically as if I'd accidentally given them more than a trillion dollars or something). Especially since not even all of my loved ones have come to Christ, and I would feel eternally guilty if I accidentally converted an enemy without having first converted all of my loved ones. I'm a very analytical person and analyze situations very deeply. Has anyone else ever felt this way?

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Nope. I can't say I've ever felt that way, and I'm a very analytical person too. For the most part, I tend to hold out hope for most people, wanting them to someday see the light of Christ. Admittedly, though, my 'weakness' is that I get hacked [to put it mildly] over the fact that the Devil has gotten such a deep hold on so many of us in so many ways ...

gabriellaaaaa said:

Does anyone else feel this way? I know it's not a "Christian" way to feel but I can't help it. I know 1000% in my heart that introducing someone to Christ (and if they actually follow) is the GREATEST gift that could be given to anyone, so I'm always afraid of accidentally being too nice to enemies etc. and then having them come to Christ (to me, that's basically as if I'd accidentally given them more than a trillion dollars or something). Especially since not even all of my loved ones have come to Christ, and I would feel eternally guilty if I accidentally converted an enemy without having first converted all of my loved ones. I'm a very analytical person and analyze situations very deeply. Has anyone else ever felt this way?

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Don't be afraid to be nice to people you dislike...and don't have enemies. All Christians will naturally have enemies. Why? Because we resemble Jesus, and if you are not adopted child of God, then you are a child of satan so they naturally hate us. Christians must be different from non-christians and they will be hated for it. Remember what Jesus taught, that we must love our enemies, for we once too were enemies of God. Those who known that are forgiven, know to forgive others. Besides, and trust me, no one forgives more than God, and he forgave you (if you are his) far more that you will ever have to forgive someone, because no one can hurt you as much as you can hurt God.

I don't feel like I've ever not wanted anyone to come to Christ. However, I can say I've had the fleeting thought sometimes of 'this person doesn't deserve to be saved' but it's more than likely satan trying to do his devil-thing, and I simply push it out of my mind. You should probably do the same.

gospels said:

Oh my! Did Jonah come back? Such a unique prophet. Sorry, he had to live in a whale’s tummy. I hope you won’t.

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LOL, That's a level of passive get-it-together sass I never expected to see from you, Gospels.

Whatever we do, when it comes to people's conversions (even though I believe God gets all the glory and His Spirit does most of the work), nothing works better than love. If I was an unbeliever and someone came talking to me about the Son of God who told us to love our enemies, but that someone absolutely didn't want their enemies to come to Christ, I wouldn't take that person very seriously. Even if it was a family member.

If your enemy comes to Christ, you haven't lost anything, you have gained a brother or a sister, and we should all thank God for that. Nothing about it will be a hinderance to your family members' possible future faith, quite the opposite. It's better for God's will to happen than ours, He always knows best no matter how confused we are, which is why we pray for His will to be done.

Considering that "with the measure you measure out, it will be measured to you", that's a very dangerous attitude to have. God gets to decide who comes to Him, and according to His inscrutable calculus of the heart, the worst of sinners might enter the Kingdom of Heaven before the person who seems upright.

It might help to consider that it's not the person who mouths a prayer who is saved, it is the person who calls on the Lord from a pure heart. So if that bad person really does get saved, it won't be mere formalism, he will have an according change of heart. Simply put, you can trust the Lord's judgments when it comes to these things - more so that you can trust your own.

theoneandonlypencil said:

LOL, That's a level of passive get-it-together sass I never expected to see from you, Gospels.

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Yeah, it was pretty brutal, and somehow very passive-sounding and indirect at the same time. ... That takes some skill.

SarahsKnight said:

Yeah, it was pretty brutal, and somehow very passive-sounding and indirect at the same time. ... That takes some skill.

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Agreed. I think it's much more intimidating when someone who is otherwise extremely ladylike and polite suddenly delivers some next-level witty sass without even being rude about it lol. Devastating.

Romans 5:10 KJV
[10] For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

gabriellaaaaa said:

Thanks to those who gave advice, keep the thoughts coming!

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If we don't forgive, we won't be forgiven. (Matt 6:15)

gabriellaaaaa said:

Does anyone else feel this way? I know it's not a "Christian" way to feel but I can't help it. I know 1000% in my heart that introducing someone to Christ (and if they actually follow) is the GREATEST gift that could be given to anyone, so I'm always afraid of accidentally being too nice to enemies etc. and then having them come to Christ (to me, that's basically as if I'd accidentally given them more than a trillion dollars or something).

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Don't be afraid of that. Do watch yourself so that you are not needlessly taken advantage of.

gabriellaaaaa said:

Especially since not even all of my loved ones have come to Christ, and I would feel eternally guilty if I accidentally converted an enemy without having first converted all of my loved ones. I'm a very analytical person and analyze situations very deeply. Has anyone else ever felt this way?

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The order in which they convert does not matter. Whether or not they convert does matter, but it's also outside of your control. Just be obedient to when the Spirit prompts you to witness to anybody. Don't be anxious about this either, anxious people often mistake their anxiety for the Spirit. You don't need that, especially if you're analytical.

gabriellaaaaa said:

Does anyone else feel this way? I know it's not a "Christian" way to feel but I can't help it. I know 1000% in my heart that introducing someone to Christ (and if they actually follow) is the GREATEST gift that could be given to anyone, so I'm always afraid of accidentally being too nice to enemies etc. and then having them come to Christ (to me, that's basically as if I'd accidentally given them more than a trillion dollars or something). Especially since not even all of my loved ones have come to Christ, and I would feel eternally guilty if I accidentally converted an enemy without having first converted all of my loved ones. I'm a very analytical person and analyze situations very deeply. Has anyone else ever felt this way?

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But then you could end up with blood on your hands.