Part of living life, and living the Christian life, is figuring out how to be friends with people who differ from you, who believe you are in the wrong, and who are living inconsistent with some kind of law (either a deities’ law or a man-manmade standard for ethics).

One example of this is in that I have a Muslim friend who believes my deeply-held beliefs and many of my lifestyle choices are sinful.  

He thinks Christian beliefs are idolatry, that some Christian practices are sinful, and that some Christian practices are even abominations in God’s sight. 

Some examples: He thinks my belief that Jesus is God is sinful/idolatry, that not fasting and not praying towards Mecca at set times is sinful.  He also thinks that drinking alcohol is sinful and that eating pork is an abomination.

[As an aside- I have several Jewish friends, and they similarly believe the divinity of Jesus is blasphemy, and that eating pork/shellfish is an abomination.]

Now, these religious beliefs are part of my identity, while alcohol/pork are just things I enjoy. Regardless, I identify as a follower of Jesus the God-Man, Jesus the Messiah, and so he [and my Jewish friends] disagrees with something fundamental to my identity. His hope is that one day I will change my religious views and my desires for alcohol/pork and instead become a Muslim.

All that said – he’s never been mean to me, in fact he’s only ever been kind.  He has never insulted my views (even when saying he thinks I am sinning), never called me pejoratives or disparaging names, never been malicious or underhanded towards me in any way.  And the same with me vice-versa towards him.

Both of us have made clear, articulate arguments about why we believe what we believe, and why we do what we do, and why we think certain things the other person does is sin in the eyes of God. Even though he and I have gone toe-to-toe on our disagreements, and are plain on where we stand, we have had a great friendship!  

He has cooked meals for me, and I have cooked meals for him.  We have sipped tea and chatted about life and how we are doing. We have celebrated life events together and made plans for the future together.  We care about each other’s well-being, even if we disagree with some of each other’s lifestyle choices and religious beliefs.

I can’t imagine a world where I would refuse to be friends with, impugn, malign, use pejoratives at, or hate someone because they disagree with my views or my lifestyle.  For one, because that would be an incredibly restrictive world to live in: It would be an echo-chamber in which my only friends are those who agree with everything I believe and everything I do, and that would be a very small world indeed. For another, I wouldn’t want to live that way because I simply love all sorts of people, even those who disagree with my views and lifestyle.