#77. Embarrassed by your Non-Christian Friend

Your friend John uses a curse word for every three safe ones. And not Christian curse words like "shoot," or "dang it," but the four letter ones I won't mention in this blog. On top of that, he smokes so much that he's constantly surrounded by a mist of smoke. Now, if he was a holier guy, you could get away with saying that this was the shekhinah following him around. But alas, John and holy do not match.

When it's just you and John, you really don't mind his cursing and smoking that much. However, when a Christian friend of yours is going to join you and John at a coffee shop, you feel the need to use a disclaimer.

Ever done that? We kind of feel like our friend John will embarrass us in front of our Christian friends. Or worse, that people will think that we condone John's use of the King Jame's language.

If you don't want to experience such shame no longer, I have some suggestions:

1-Wear a shirt that says "I'm with Heathen."
2-Warn your Christian friend that John has Tourette's
3-Pretend you're casting out a demon from John. Bonus point if you say "Expelliarmus!"
4-Pretend that you don't know John when your Christian friend arrives.
5-Ask your Christian friends to lay hands on John.
6-Tell your Christian friend, "that's weird, he was speaking in tongues just a minute ago!"

Hope this helps. Have you ever felt that you needed to make a disclaimer when hanging out with Christian and non-Christians friends?

#12. Admitting you like Harry Potter

This also applies if you have children who like Harry Potter. If you say that in a church meeting, you might have well said that you bow down to idols as you listen to heavy metal, while your Gothic girlfriend is applying more black nail polish.

No, but seriously, admitting you like Harry Potter is a big deal. I'm not saying that there isn't any questionable content that deals with black magic, but there are more serious issues affecting children today. And if your kids want to read Harry Potter, I believe you should warn them about your concerns, but you should allow them.

I spoke to someone recently who said that the only reason she read Harry Potter is because her parents and church didn't want her too. And guess what? She turned out just fine and recently visited the Harry Potter World in Orlando, Fl.

And yes, I plan on going soon!