Good faith in free food and conversation

One of the most interesting and unexpected questions received at a text-a-toastie event, competing with “If Jesus went to Hogwarts which house would he be in?” was along the lines of “Do you feel bad taking advantage of poor students by bribing them to listen to you preach with free food?”. Despite the irony of the question being posed by a poor student taking advantage of the chance for a free toastie, the question exemplifies one of the primary misperceptions among both Christians and non-Christians. Namely, as to why Christians, especially student Christian unions, love giving out free food.

I’m hoping this article offers a little more insight into the heart behind some of the Christian Union’s actions.

While Jesus may well have been in Hufflepuff because he came to save the lost he didn’t feed the five thousand as a bribe to make them listen to him preach. Yet, as we all know, most things that are free come with a catch and this has led to the fear that by accepting the Christian Union’s free food, you are unwittingly subjecting yourself to hours of conversation intended to ‘save’ you. However if this was the sole motive I’m pretty sure there are far more effective ways to bribe students, turning water into wine for example.

The important point is that it’s conversation, not a sermon. It’s human nature to want to share the good things

Jokes aside it’d be silly to deny that many food-related Christian Union events do create opportunity for conversation about faith, intentional or not. The important point is that it’s conversation, not a sermon. It’s human nature to want to share the good things we find or experience and for the majority of Christians sharing conversation about their faith is the same as the way new couples can’t stop talking about each other or when hipsters tell everyone about that new artist they have just ‘discovered’. It may seem annoying but people share because they’re excited by these discussions and the Christian faith is an exciting thing for those who share in it.

Furthermore Christians benefit just as much from being challenged by atheists, agnostics and people of different faiths so in consequence these events create, and do not hinder, conversation. University offers, as cliché as it sounds, a diversity of people and freedom for self-expression that we may never encounter again so being encouraged to explore and question any faith isn’t something anyone should feel guilty about.

Being encouraged to explore and question any faith isn’t something anyone should feel guilty about.

The view of conversation as a ‘conversion-attempt’ is also often thought to be an attempt to score brownie points with God. In fact this assumption goes further since a select few believe Christians only do good deeds, including offering free food, to improve their chances of getting into heaven. This only works if we play ignorant of the whole Easter story: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (NIV John 3:16), regardless of our behaviour. God’s love and the act of love he carried out in condemning his own Son to die for us is so great a gift that Christians want to share it with others. Loving others is the refrain of the whole New Testament and, while this may be easy to display with people we know it’s pretty hard to do so with strangers. Instead Christian’s have resorted to free food, a universal language of love if you will.

While this article may not be the most biblically referential or speak on behalf of all Christians I’m hoping it offers a little more insight into the heart behind some of the Christian Union’s actions. So perhaps next time you are handed a flyer about a lunch which is cooked, paid for and washed up by the Christian Union members, i.e. not you, or are offered a hot chocolate while your friend negotiates with taxi drivers because you missed the bus to ‘Smack’, you won’t feel like you’re being taken advantage of or missing some small print. Hopefully you will also not feel like you’re taking advantage of a faith of which you don’t necessarily believe in. Instead I hope you’ll smile and know that you are loved, whether you take the offer or not. It really is that simple.

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Header Image Courtesy of Twitter/WarwickCU