I have just spent an inordinate amount of time on the telephone with a person I have never met in my life. I let her tell me what to do and I obeyed instantly. I believed everything she said. I trusted every decision she made for me. And this is not the first time I have done this. I have made it a habit in the past ten years.
I have decided that you need to have a bent for technology in order to get along in the world now. Gone are the days when you can go out, buy something, take it home, plug it in, and it works. Everything has to be set up, programmed, deprogrammed, downloaded, uploaded, or in-loaded. I obviously do not have the mind for it. When my computer asks me a question, I cannot even comprehend the words much less know the right answer.
But those techs on the phone are amazing. They can understand my poorly phrased, obviously ignorant questions. They can tell me exactly what my computer screen looks like, what to click on, and what will pop up next. They can find their way through twenty different steps I never even knew were there, and magically make my computer do what it’s supposed to do. It has happened over and over for ten years now. That’s why I go to them as soon as I have a problem, and do exactly what they tell me to do, no questions asked.
We have never carried on personal conversations. I have no idea what their qualifications are. I have never taken a regular computer class from them. All I can see are results--when I need help, they always have an answer and it always works. And so I even listened to them the time one said, “Ma’am, you need a new computer.” We went out and bought a new computer.
I wonder if we can’t learn something about evangelism from all this. Maybe it isn’t about your qualifications as a Bible scholar. Maybe it isn’t about people wanting to sit down and study with you on a regular basis, at least not at first. Maybe it isn’t about you being able to come up with Bible verses for every occasion. Maybe it isn’t even about the fact that every Sunday they see you load up the family and head off to church. Maybe the thing that matters is your life. Maybe because they see that you can handle whatever situation you find yourself in with grace and endurance, they know you have something they don’t have. Maybe because they see your marriage last for years and years in spite of the trials of life, they know that the two of you have more than just a commitment to each other, but to something larger. Maybe because they see that your children have turned out to be good solid citizens, they realize that what you believe as a family has lasting value.
Because they see all that, they will come to you for advice. They will ask how you do it. And when they do, then you can talk about those scriptures in the Bible. Then you can discuss the eternal purpose of God from the foundation of the earth. They don’t want what you have to sell until they see the results in you.
Do you want to save souls? Show them how it’s done. If you cannot save yourself, why should they listen to you?
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…Phil 1:27
Dene Ward
I have decided that you need to have a bent for technology in order to get along in the world now. Gone are the days when you can go out, buy something, take it home, plug it in, and it works. Everything has to be set up, programmed, deprogrammed, downloaded, uploaded, or in-loaded. I obviously do not have the mind for it. When my computer asks me a question, I cannot even comprehend the words much less know the right answer.
But those techs on the phone are amazing. They can understand my poorly phrased, obviously ignorant questions. They can tell me exactly what my computer screen looks like, what to click on, and what will pop up next. They can find their way through twenty different steps I never even knew were there, and magically make my computer do what it’s supposed to do. It has happened over and over for ten years now. That’s why I go to them as soon as I have a problem, and do exactly what they tell me to do, no questions asked.
We have never carried on personal conversations. I have no idea what their qualifications are. I have never taken a regular computer class from them. All I can see are results--when I need help, they always have an answer and it always works. And so I even listened to them the time one said, “Ma’am, you need a new computer.” We went out and bought a new computer.
I wonder if we can’t learn something about evangelism from all this. Maybe it isn’t about your qualifications as a Bible scholar. Maybe it isn’t about people wanting to sit down and study with you on a regular basis, at least not at first. Maybe it isn’t about you being able to come up with Bible verses for every occasion. Maybe it isn’t even about the fact that every Sunday they see you load up the family and head off to church. Maybe the thing that matters is your life. Maybe because they see that you can handle whatever situation you find yourself in with grace and endurance, they know you have something they don’t have. Maybe because they see your marriage last for years and years in spite of the trials of life, they know that the two of you have more than just a commitment to each other, but to something larger. Maybe because they see that your children have turned out to be good solid citizens, they realize that what you believe as a family has lasting value.
Because they see all that, they will come to you for advice. They will ask how you do it. And when they do, then you can talk about those scriptures in the Bible. Then you can discuss the eternal purpose of God from the foundation of the earth. They don’t want what you have to sell until they see the results in you.
Do you want to save souls? Show them how it’s done. If you cannot save yourself, why should they listen to you?
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ…Phil 1:27
Dene Ward
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