When is it NOT okay to evangelize?

As Christians, we are always looking for chances to bring the gospel to those around us. We want everyone to know who Jesus is and what he did (and continues to do). But we also know that there are times when preaching may be inappropriate or counter-productive. One marine in Iraq is learning this truth the hard way.

The US military said on Friday it was probing complaints that marines handed out coins inscribed with a verse from the Bible to a group of Sunni Muslims in Iraq, sparking outrage among local residents.
It said a marine involved in the incident in the former flashpoint city of Fallujah west of Baghdad was removed from his duties on Thursday...
"A coalition force service member was removed from his duties Thursday amid concerns from Fallujah's citizens regarding reports of inappropriate conduct.
"We can confirm that it is a marine who has been removed from his duties," the US military statement said.
It stressed that handing out Christian coins was the action of a single soldier and that there was no collective drive to influence the local Muslim population.
The military quoted its own own bible for troops deployed in Iraq, saying that in the general order, sub-paragraph two of prohibitions "proselytizing of any religion, faith or practice" was included.

It can sometimes be hard to differentiate between speaking out bravely (i.e. defending your faith to a classmate) and being brazen (i.e. showing disrespect to a teacher, while speaking about your beliefs). But it is important to keep in mind that if we are not careful how we present the gospel, we may wind up making it offensive to those who need it.