Woo Hoo!

Yesterday we attended the annual marching festival in which my daughter's high school band participates.

We got to the event just in time to see the Cougar Marching Band perform the numbers they have been working on since school started this Fall.  It was an amazing performance...from the music, to the flag team, to the twirlers, to the drum majors, to the band members themselves.  The band directors should be proud of the final product of all of their hard work. 

After our band finished, we relaxed and enjoyed some of the other performances.  Wow!  The talent on display gave me goosebumps.  One of the bands I was looking forward to seeing performed within a couple hours.  We waited to watch them before taking the younger kids out to dinner.

As they took the field, it became obvious that several of their supporters were sitting directly behind us.  The Woo Hoo-ing started.

I saw this band perform last year so I knew that had a solid program and would put on a entertaining show.  But I simply couldn't get past the constant hollers of Woo Hoo coming from the women behind me.  It was obnoxious.  It was prideful.  It was annoying.

In fact, I found myself actually disliking the band and looking for problems in their performance.  And that's when it hit me.

This was a good band.  These kids had worked very hard to learn their music, learn their choreography, and perform at a high level of skill.  They deserved to have the respect of the audience and their peers.  They had earned the right to be seen as a good example.  Rather than looking for fault with them, I should've been simply enjoying their performance. 

But those darn Woo Hoos!

How many people do not explore the Christian faith simply because they are irritated with all of the Woo Hoo coming from Christians?  Is our display of faith sometimes obnoxious?  Are we prideful rather than humble?  Do others find us annoying?

Do these things lead others to look for things to dislike about Christianity?  Do they delight when there is a problem within our faith?  (Think of the gloating that takes place when a respected leader of a church commits a sin that becomes public.)

Christ was perfect--fully man and fully God. He worked hard while on this earth to teach the Word of God through miracles and preaching.  He deserved the respect of all of us and His contemporaries.  He earned the right to be seen as a perfect example.  He gave it everything He had...including His life.

Maybe it's time we, the followers of Christ, stop with the Woo Hoo. 

I'm not saying that we shouldn't share our faith.  We have a responsibility to share the Good News of Jesus.  But we need to make sure that this doesn't get obnoxious.  Christians should be humble about their salvation--after all we didn't earn it and honestly don't deserve it.  It's also important that we be respectful of others and their beliefs rather than being confrontational, defensive, or downright annoying.

Remember, we can't change someone.  Only the Holy Spirit can do that.  Plant the seed and let God do His work.  The Bible provides us with everything we need to know, but God reveals it to his people in the time and manner He determines.  If He needs you to teach someone, He will provide that opportunity when the time is right.  We cannot shove it down someone's throat.

Provide an introduction to God, watch the Holy Spirit do His work, provide support in helping others walk with Christ, then humbly praise Him for all of it.

And before you screw up someone's opinion of Christ, bite your Woo Hoo-ing tongue and let His performance speak for itself.