People who come from different backgrounds can get all riled up when discussing their own religious beliefs.
Lakewood Church Pastor Joel Osteen believes Christians should not engage in these debates but instead lead by example.
"I think [Christians should] take the high ground and respect where [other people are] coming from. What I've seen in life is most people get their faith or their religious background from their parents," he told the Christian Post. "I always realise—because I travel to a lot of different countries with different people of different faiths—I realise this is the way they were raised and I think people will know who the Disciples of Christ are by our love for one another. So I think respect and understanding is [the] starting point."
Instead of insisting on one's beliefs, Osteen suggested that Christians demonstrate peace, joy, and strength themselves. That way, people of other faiths would come to respect, and maybe even embrace Christianity.
"Respect is one of the characteristics of showing that we're people of faith. That we love God, that we love Jesus, and that we treat people with respect and honour—even those who disagree with us," he said.
While talking about his new book called "The Power of I Am: Two Words That Will Change Your Life Today," Osteen said the words "I am" actually have great power in shaping one's outlook in life and future.
"It's easy to go through life and say 'I'm unattractive, I'm slow, I'm not as smart as my brother.' Just these negative things," said Osteen. "I give a list of 30 or 40 positive things; I am healthy, I am disciplined, I am focused. And I believe, when you're constantly meditating on that, those things are attracted to you. You're sowing a seed for it to come into your life."
Osteen understands that there are some people who develop a negative perspective because of the way they were raised, or because of some unfortunate events in their lives. But the popular Christian speaker and author knows that once people become more positive, then good things will start happening in their lives.
"The real battle is taking place in our minds and thoughts," Osteen said. "Because we all have negative circumstances, you can view them and get negative and discouraged, or you can turn it around and say, 'God, thank you that you're fighting my battles.' It's what the Scripture says. Rejoice in the Lord always and count it all joy when you face trials."
