It is because they are polite, because in a way that only the lost can explain, which is not in a concise and reasonable way, they love you, you are important to them, but in reality, a reality that they will not voice, they want what you have.
Think on this my friends, what is worse, a hypocritical friend that is still living in their sins, or a believer who will not adhere to the Word of God and still attempts to live in the world. I am not telling you that it is time to part with those you call friends, to leave behind your closest relatives, to parts ways with those you love and care for and to seek Christ and Him alone, you are not accountable to me, but in a sense, I am accountable to you because of Christ.
I have been commanded to leave the world, to not love the world or anything in it, while at the same time being told to love my neighbor. I understand full well the emotional pull that we grapple with every day, the lost are a part of that desire, but far too many I am afraid have determined to disobey the words of God because of their inability or lack of desire to put Christ first.
In Ezra 9 the people of Israel had intermingled with the people in the land, they gave their sons and daughters to be married to the heathen, and when their fault was shown to them, they sent their wives, husbands, and even the children they had produced together with them away. Can you do that, could you look at the ones you love the most and say to them, “I love the Lord my God more than I love you.”
“For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?” (1 Cor. 7:16) Was Paul accepting that these kinds of marriages were going to occur, so just make the best of it and hope and pray that it works out in the end, that the marriage you should not have entered into in the first place now must be continued, and the best you can do is pray that your sinful, lost spouse will come to know Christ as Savior? Ask me. Ask me about all of my closest relatives, hundreds at the family reunions that I no longer associate with, some just because of the passage of time and distance, others of my own free will, for I will not cast pearls before swine, not after I recognize what I am doing. Ask me about my beautiful, Godfearing wife who was a drunk when we met, living smack dab in the middle of the world and all it had to offer. It is not always the case I know, but if I want to learn how to lose weight, I am not going to go ask someone that is overweight how to do that, experience, life-experiences matter, and when they are coupled with the truths of Scripture, they are indeed a powerful force.
These individuals that you have dedicated a large part of your life to, these lost souls you call friends and relatives, how much longer have you determined to spend on them, witnessing to them about the Savior, that is assuming that you are continuing in that path, how many more precious pearls of the Lord do you plan on spending upon them? Hope is a wonderful thing, but it is just one very small step away from false hope, and that will draw you further and further away from the path you are to be on. Emotions cannot be allowed to override faith, ever, they must be taken into account, but if you are spending your life amongst individuals who have continued to ask you to stop speaking of the love of Christ to them, and you continue to make these individuals a major part of your life, where is the price of the field at, why do you continue to not shake the dust of your feet off, why have you decided to live with the swine.
I am not who you are accountable to, but you will give an account to the Lord one day, and He will expect answers. At that time, I hope you are not surprised by what will come out of your mouth, I think I can guarantee you that it will not be an excuse, but the truth, a truth that perhaps it is finally time to face.
