The world says ‘seeing is believing.’
Jesus teaches ‘believing is seeing.’
The world says attain wisdom
The Bible teaches we should be willing to become a fool
The world says ‘be a survivor’
Jesus taught we should be willing to lose our lives
The world says ‘go for the gold,’ achieve greatness
Jesus taught us to be willing to be the last, the least
The world exalts leaders
Jesus said we should make ourselves servants
The world exalts human potential and greatness
Jesus said we should humble ourselves
The world says ‘look out for number one’
The Bible teaches we should look out for the interests of others and count others better than ourselves
The world says ‘get all you can’
Jesus says ‘give all you can’
The world says we should make our good deeds known
Jesus taught we should keep our good deeds secret
The world says love is a feeling, it’s conditional and it will grow old
The Bible teaches the love is a lasting, unconditional commitment; love never fails
The world says we should hate our enemies
Jesus taught us to love our enemies
The world says ‘get even,’ retaliate
Jesus taught forgiveness
The world puts spin on events to cover up mistakes
Proverbs teaches us to confess our mistakes
The world emphasizes the great things human can accomplish
The prophets taught things happen ‘not by might, nor by power,’ but by God’s Spirit
The world says ‘drown your sorrows’
The Bible contrasts that with ‘be filled with the Spirit
The world operates on cynicism and skepticism
Jesus taught that all things are possible to those who believe
The world says you should consult your horoscope
Jesus talked about searching the scriptures
The world says the Bible was written by human agency only
The Bible itself claims that all Scripture is God breathed
The world says the Bible is old-fashioned and out-of-date
Jesus said that heaven and earth will pass away, but not his truths
The world thinks Jesus was a good man
The early church confession was that Jesus is Lord
The world says Jesus is not coming back
Jesus promised ‘I will come and receive you to myself’
The world concludes, ‘I’ll never worship Jesus Christ’
The Bible says that someday every knee will bow and every voice will admit that Jesus Christ is Lord.
~adapted from Straightforward by Larry Tomczak, a classic book from the Jesus movement of the late 1970s. Italicized sections allude to or quote scripture passages unless otherwise indicated.
Thinking Out Loud 
Your Response (Value-Added Comments Only)