Some of you may or may not know that I went to Gardner-Webb University and majored in Religious Studies. 

I wanted to be a Youth Pastor…

A man of the cloth… 

Turns out I’m more of a man of the table cloth…

A Cussin Christian, if you will…

This past weekend, I had an epiphany. I was sitting with my boys watching cartoons and a verse from the Good Book came to my head.

“And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when he (Jesus) heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but the sinners.”

Matthew 9:10-13

Damn! Mic Drop!

I had a friend in college who was burning the candle at both ends. (We will call him Corey) He was into some pretty tough extra curricular activities… (Stronger than the Devils Lettuce). 

Going back to me being a Religious Studies major, I was involved in a lot of the Campus Ministries on campus… Small Groups/Weekly Services/Mission Trips…I was in the “God Squad”. At one point, my friendship with Corey came into question…

I was at lunch with other members of the “God Squad” and they made it pretty clear that I shouldn’t be seen hanging out with Corey… Why? I asked. Their response was, When others see you with Corey, they assume that you are living his lifestyle. To which my response… Who cares?.. 

That is when the verse above came to mean the most to me…

That is when I realized… maybe the “God Squad” was full of S%&#.

If we are supposed to be like Jesus, then why should I not spend time and have a friendship with someone like Corey?

I’ll drop another verse for ya while I’m at it…

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 3:23

For ALL have sinned… That means every damn one of us!

You mean to tell me that you have an anger problem and lash out at times…

ME TOO!…

You mean to tell me that there have been times in your life that you have struggled…

ME TOO!…

You mean to tell me that sometimes you argue with your spouse and say things you wish you hadn’t…

ME TOO!…

You mean to tell me that sometimes in traffic you have given an old lady the finger because she is driving slow…

ME TOO!…

How about this… Lets stop pretending our lives are all sunshine and roses when we come to meet people who are in the midst of a struggle, and we just meet them where they are and be honest enough to say… ME TOO!

A couple of years back, I came across a book by one Matthew McConaughey. Page 148 stuck out to me the most…

I’ll leave you with this…

“I shared the demons of my mind for three and a half hours with Brother Christian. I took myself to the woodshed. He did not say a word. Not. One. He just patiently listened as we wandered side by side through the desert. At hour four we found ourselves back at the chapel sitting on a bench just outside the entrance. Now weeping, I eventually came to the end of my confession. We set in silence while I awaited Christians judgement. Nothing. Finally, in the unrest of the stillness, I looked up. Brother Christian, who hadn’t said a word to me this entire time, looked me in the eyes and in almost a whisper, said to me, “Me too.” Sometimes we don’t need advice. Sometimes we just need to hear we’re not the only one.”

Matthew McConaughey – Greenlights

-Matt Webb