Frustrating Christians. March 27, 2008
I work for a Christian bookstore so I have this unique “privilege” to “Christians” at their best and worst. Yesterday they were at their worst.
The conversation went something like this.
Me: Hello, how are you today?
Customer: <exacerbated> I need a bible!
Me: OK well first do you have a translation preference?
Customer: the study kind.
Me: OK by translation I mean NIV, NLT, King James, New King James…
Customer: <irritated> I need the “Saint James, new living application international version study bible! And it has to be The HOLY Bible!”
This is a good place to stop. I should mention that this customer is a “pastor.” When I asked what bible she read she couldn’t tell me. when I asked what the “official” bible was for her church or the one she preached from on Sundays she replied “the saint James international study new living application Holy bible.”
To clarify she is looking for a KJV (king James version), NLT (New living translation), Life application, NIV (new international version), Study Bible… oh and it has to be Holy! That is 3 different versions and 2 different sets of study notes all wrapped up in a nice neat little Holy package.
I can’t stand when “career Christians” come in and can’t even tell me what version of the bible they read. On our Employment application it asks “what is your favorite Translation of the bible?” more than 50% have a bible verse written below the question while another 25% have a quote like “God is good” or if you can’t say something nice…” AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Later I had a pastors wife come in looking for “THE sinners prayer.” For one of the deacons in her church whose husband was dying of cancer. He is not a believer and the wife had never felt comfortable (and still doesn’t) sharing her faith with him.
That story is HORRIBLE! A wife not comfortable enough to share her saviour with her dying husband. A pastors wife looking for “THE sinners prayer” because “any old words won’t do.”
Now I am not the best Christian I have my faults and struggles. I don’t run into a phone booth rip my shirt and become super christian. But these people that don’t take their faith seriously grate on me…
This is what you believe…
Jesus Christ Came from heaven, and died on a cross for you. Yet you have a cavalier attitude to it all.
One final note the “pastor” spent $60 on an “NASB Life application Study bible” (she picked it out because the box was black.) When she handed me the money she said “I ain’t even worried about it. God’s gonna pay me back 10 fold fo sho!”
I pray she reads it.
Tell me what you think.
Later,
Billy
that’s amazing…when I managed a supermarket I was always amazed at the stupid stuff that happened…and I always wondered if it would be better in a purely Christian environment…thanks for answering that question…please continue to collect these and write a book.
You should keep an industrial strength 3 hole punch behind the counter.
When people tell you they want the HOLY bible, you could put the machine to work.
I think God laughs at this image, too, just in case anybody is about to complain that I’m being irreverent.
Billy, your post makes me thankful for running in the world I do. It occurs to me: Aren’t all of the prayers sinner’s prayers? If we weren’t, we wouldn’t need prayers in the first place…
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