Have you ever felt uncomfortable with someone who isn’t a devoted Christian or not a believer at all? This happens to me many times with my brother. Whenever someone tries to correct him, he immediately gets mad and defensive. He says he believes in God, but really he’s not convinced. He’s involved in fornication, pornography, profane speech, etc. When I’m in my room, for instance, I’d be on your web page browsing, and if I sense him coming toward my room, I open another tab, or I just get filled with annoyance when he’s around me at times. I know I shouldn’t be this way. When he tries to have a conversation with me, it’s usually about foolish topics.<\/p>\n
In regards to me opening another web page, I get disappointed in myself because it’s almost as if I’m ashamed of seeking Christ. And the weird thing is that I feel this way only to him and not with people I don’t know! How do I overcome this, please?<\/p>\n\t
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.<\/em><\/p>\n
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven<\/em>” (Matthew 5:10-16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
My guess is that because of the past, you are certain that your brother will taunt you about your beliefs, so you are avoiding the conflict. You don’t have to force your beliefs on him if he is not interested, but you shouldn’t hide who you are either because you are setting an example for him. He knows you are a believer, so it should not be a surprise to him.<\/p>\n
Who knows? Seeing a page might actually generate a conversation on a serious topic for once.<\/p>\n
“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain<\/em>” (Philippians 2:14-16).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Have you ever felt uncomfortable with someone who isn’t a devoted Christian or not a believer at all? This happens to me many times with my brother. Whenever someone tries to correct him, he immediately gets mad and defensive. He says he believes in God, but really he’s not convinced. He’s involved in fornication,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[51,353,609],"class_list":["post-43763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-confession","tag-influence","tag-worldliness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":21374,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-fix-my-brother\/","url_meta":{"origin":43763,"position":0},"title":"How do I fix my brother?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I know this sounds like a stupid question, but how do I fix my brother? He keeps getting worse. I thought he was starting to act a little bit better, but I guess I was wrong. I know I messed up in acting the way I did when I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43517,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-my-boyfriend-cheating-on-me-or-am-i-just-being-hormonal\/","url_meta":{"origin":43763,"position":1},"title":"Is my boyfriend cheating on me or am I just being hormonal?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I'm having trouble figuring out if I'm being paranoid, or if my soon-to-be husband is cheating on me. I'm 8 months pregnant. I had an episode of angina several days ago. My doctor said it was caused by excessive stress and it could happen again. Now my fiance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2406,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-christian-come-back-after-falling-several-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":43763,"position":2},"title":"Can a Christian come back after falling several times?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've been pondering and thinking about it all. Here's my question, can a saved Christian after he's saved and changes his lifestyle, shrink back? Fall from the faith? Go back to his old ways? And then return back to Christ? For a more clear illustration: Say a young man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12816,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-didnt-handle-an-argument-with-my-brother-over-the-movies-he-lets-my-nephew-watch-do-you-have-some-advice\/","url_meta":{"origin":43763,"position":3},"title":"I didn’t handle an argument with my brother over the movies he lets my nephew watch. Do you have some advice?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I need some outside advice. This morning I got into a short argument with my brother who has a boy -- both of whom live with me in my parent's home. All of us have put in equal hours helping to raise the boy. 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He was upset because he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36177,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-deal-with-the-fear-that-my-dad-may-never-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":43763,"position":5},"title":"How do I deal with the fear that my dad may never change?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello Bro. Hamilton, I just need some clarification about a situation. My parents are not members of the church of Christ, but I am. We went off and on when I was growing up but stopped because my dad didn't take us anymore. 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