Tawny tells me about her conversation with Armenian friend Dacia, who quickly shuts down her attempt to discuss faith. Armenians, by the way, are proudly Christian in the fact that they adopted Christianity even before Constantine. Yet Tawny senses her Christianity is merely cultural and not real. She asks me one night after our community group, “How do you respond when she just laughs at me, and then says her faith is personal?” My counsel was to respond in this vein. Look her in the eyes and say,
“Dacia, good relationships can talk about important things. If we cannot talk about something as significant as our faith, then our friendship is superficial. I don’t want us to have that kind of relationship. Because of how much I value you, I want the deeper kind.”
Dacia will undoubtedly see her closed posture in a new light. She wants to avoid the faith subject, but now realizes its affect. She might even intuit that Tawny views her as inauthentic. This could have impact. The truth is Tawny does not want a shallow relationship with her. As Christians, we know a relationship only goes as deep as its connection point. It’s why we value fellowship, because we connect around something of depth. Who cares about all the trivial crap of life? Don’t you get tired of all the meaningless chatter? I want to talk about something big! God and faith are worthwhile subjects that should not be shelved. Dacia can remain a closed off person who doesn’t share her real thoughts . . . or Tawny might successfully draw her into talking earnestly about life with God.