Social situations

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ACanthony

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Thanks for your help in advance. I’m a 27 year old man. I was always a Catholic in name but about 3 years ago I had a few experiences which deepened my faith. Now I practice my faith daily through prayer, bible reading, meditation, etc. Still a work in progress but I really am trying to give my whole life to Christ. I am not considering the priesthood because I want a family.

My question is this. I was a shy boy growing up but lately have turned into a very positive and social person and am generally outgoing- when I am feeling social I am 100% comfortable. But when I find myself in social situations amongst non believers (or those with little faith), sometimes I have a tendency to get uncomfortable (for various reasons, i.e. the topics of discussion don’t sit right in my stomach, or people don’t include me in the conversations and I am really not one to want to grab attention). Now I am praying to the Lord to ask me to help me be more social (because as a person of faith I think being social is important for spreading our message) but is there any other practical things I can do to feel a little more social (when I’m not in a particularly social mood)? Thank you 🙂 -Anthony
 
I think what you are experiencing (being uncomfortable among unbelievers) is completely normal. You have changed and it is simply not possible to click with every single person out there, especially when they have very different beliefs. I struggle with this as well and have come to accept that I am never going to be completely comfortable in certain situations. I don’t think that is a bad thing. It reminds me where I belong.
I suggest you always have a prepared answer or comment when conversation gets uncomfortable because of certain topics. Be prepared to engage in a discussion even, because that may easily happen.
 
Why would you be “unsociable” to someone just because they didn’t see eye to eye with you in matters regarding your faith?

Everyone is made in the image and likeness of God. It is He who calls everyone to Himself. While it is up to each of us to respond to God’s love, we are all nevertheless on the long journey. There are more than a few saints who struggled with their faith at one time.

Let go and let God…You be a herald of the Gospel by being sociable to everyone you meet. Actions speak louder than words.
 
ACanthony said:
But when I find myself in social situations amongst non believers (or those with little faith), sometimes I have a tendency to get uncomfortable (for various reasons, i.e. the topics of discussion don’t sit right in my stomach…
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As our faith is deepened and our attention is more focused on the Lord, it is not unusual to find conversations not to do with our belief are not of much interest to us. I find such situation not necessarily uncomfortable but definitely unattractive. I have run into situations that non-believer friends call for social gathering and I attend it simply for the sake of keeping friendship. In such occasion, I do chat with them, but more often I listen and smile. We are not of the world but we are still in the world.
 
Thanks for the responses. Depending on the crowd I can be very social. Even when not talking about things related to my faith, as long as I am with good friends I am more than fine. Of course, I would like every conversation to be about something to do with the faith, but even among believers that is not always possible. I guess the situations I am talking about especially are when there is a large group of people and they are all vying for attention. It seems like in those situations the person who talks about themselves the most wins. The louder you are the more you will get the spotlight. And in those situations I don’t even like talking anyways because a lot of the times I feel people aren’t truly listening and they are just waiting for their turn to talk. I guess I will keep offering it to the Lord 🙂 That seems to be the answer for everything…and He always, always listens to my call 🙂
 
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