How many times have you had Christian music playing in your car and turned it either way down or completely off when your non-Christian friends or co-workers carpool with you because you’re afraid of offending them? I can say that I do this almost every time. Though, I’m not sure I know what they’d be offended by. Most of them know I’m a Christian. I pray in the break room in front of them before I eat my lunch. It would only seem natural that I’d listen to Christian music… but I guess somehow making them listen to Christian music seems more like proselytizing to me. I don’t know.
I remember one time I had let an Atheist friend of mine borrow my rental car. I was horrified as I had remembered that I had left a Christian CD in the stereo on full blast. But was I more afraid that he would be offended or about what judgments he would make of me?
Fast-forward to last Sunday night…
12:35AM (2 hours past my flight departure time)… Atlanta Hartsfield Airport:
Why is that guy standing there with his bag half-way out of the overhead compartment? Doesn’t he know we’re about to take off, and we can’t while he’s standing there like a moron? This flight has already been delayed by two hours. It’s going to be 2 in the morning before we touch down at BWI. Sit the heck down, dude, before I make you…
I was not in a good mood. Forget that I spent a wonderful weekend with my family and niece… all that seemed a distant memory now. The flight was overbooked and people had way too many things because of holiday shopping. The sleeping guy sitting next to me was hogging up the arm rest and was resting his knee on mine… in my “space,” and the drink cart whacked me in my other knee as I was trying to doze off.
When I landed at BWI, I just couldn’t wait to get to bed and put the last several hours behind me. Luckily, the parking lot shuttle bus was arriving just as I had exited the building. The driver was this big black guy… probably about 300 pounds at least. I gave him my ticket and sat down. As I was stewing in my seat my ear caught something from the radio speakers…
He knows my name… he knows my every thought…
Huh? That sounds kinda Christian sounding… but this is a public bus… must be some country station… hmm… don’t know too many black guys who listen to country music… hey, no talk or commercials between songs… must be a CD… hey, he’s turning it up…
Your love is amazing… steady and unchanging… Your love is a mountain, firm beneath my feet.
Hold on… this is Christian music… not just that… it’s praise music!
So I started looking around the bus at the other passengers. I knew that they had to know that it was Christian music because by now it was pretty loud and the song had reached the chorus of “Hallelujah, hallelujah…” I wondered if anyone on the bus was put off by the music selection.
Then I started thinking of the driver… wondering if he could get in trouble for this in any way. But then that was quickly replaced by admiration that he didn’t seem concerned about it. But I was still curious as to whether or not he had been confronted before by either passengers or his superiors about playing “that kind” of music on this very public shuttle bus. But I figured that either he wasn’t aware that it could make people uncomfortable or he just didn’t care. Either way, I had to respect him.
The rest of that bus ride to the parking lot I forgot about the last several hours of airport mess. I was grinning from ear to ear thinking that in this world where even devout Christians are afraid to say “Merry Christmas” for fear of offending people, there was this man who in his own way was evangelizing to his world.
When the bus stopped at my car, I picked up my bag and walked toward door. But just before I started down the steps, I turned to him, tapped him on the shoulder, whispered, “Hey, great music,” and gave him a smile that said “keep on it, my brother.”
He smiled back and said “Thank you.”
that’s a great challenge. i’ve always turned down the music in the car when nonchristian passengers boarded, including family members….. i’ve often wondered what that said about me…
=)
awesome post……………..
isn’t it funny how we have no problems blaring hip hop music which oftentimes have offensice lyric, etc. but when it come to christian music we either roll the windows up or turn it down a notch???
hey nathan, i’ve read every single one of ur entries in 24 hours. amazing. i think ur just the coolest person. can i stalk you? AAAHAHAHAHA
Your airport story reminds me of the scene in “Meet The Parents.” Haha.The only difference is, you got to ride in a shuttle bus with someone who listens to Christian music. That’s pretty cool and really rare/special. Oh, that and you weren’t forcibly removed from the airplane like Greg Focker… LOL.As for the music, I do try not to offend any non-Christian friends by playing some smooth jazz or leave the radio off, but I don’t really have that many friends who aren’t Christian, so it’s no big deal. Normally, peeps don’t say anything because they figure that it’s my car, so I should be entitled to listen to what I want. Oh well.
umm, honestly, if i know a non-believer if gonna be riding in my car, i intentionally put DCB/tomlin/redman[not the rapper] in.
aw what a happy story! but i know how you feel nathan.. i work at the front desk of my building and i leave christian cds in my mailbox so i can listen to them while i’m down here but sometimes it’s so.. awkward when there’s a lot of traffic.. i wonder what people will think of me when they hear “christian” lyrics. and i don’t even have to worry about offending people because my boss told our staff that we can listen to whatever music we want to behind the desk. maybe i should just bring like straight up kirk franklin gospel and turn it all the way up. hehehe..
Kirk Franklin is the man! And it shouldn’t matter what people think about you, Miss Lovy. Okay, so maybe that’s MY philosophy. I stopped wondering and worrying about what people think about me. It just adds more stress. Some people are gonna like me and respect me, other people won’t like me and diss me. That’s just how it goes. Life is too short to wonder what other people might think about you. You have a great circle of Christian brothers and sisters who are supportive and loving of you. What else matters?
wow, you have an xanga!!! I KNOW YOU!! HAHAHHAAA!!!!
heheehehehe, my brother, Nathan got his permit…..
hheeheheheh……..
I like ur story 🙂