Do you actually care? (Photo: Samuel Trip)
Short answer for winning points but not influencing anyone in a positive direction:
Share a message of truth instead of a message of love.
I think we’ve all experienced this before.
A not-quit-friend approaches you and attempts to convince you of some wonderful truth. It doesn’t even have to be Christian. It could be as simple as a fitness program (based on ancient principles, no doubt) that promises to catapult you into a happy, pappy, thin, and trim person.
And maybe the program really is outstanding. Trouble is, you’ll never know because you won’t give it a shot.
This pal of yours isn’t sharing out of a genuine desire to improve your life. Your pal’s gunning for points – nothing else. Your pal wants influence, not improvement. Thanks a load, pal.
Selling for points
We all do it.
Why do Girl Scouts sell cookies? They’re sure not doing it to enrich your life with joy and gladness. While I have nothing against the Scouts (and I love the cookies), I know they’re primary motivation isn’t to bless me.
Same applies to those 12-year-old baseball players selling raffle tickets door-to-door. And, I’d guess, the same applies to those cycling Jehovah Witnesses who try to share their gospel on your porch.
They’re “selling” to you to win “points” for themselves. They’re not in it to make you a better person. Seriously.
Your pal wants more program members. The Girl Scouts want to meet their quota. The ball players want to buy new jerseys. Maybe the Jehovah Witnesses do too.
They all have motives, but their motives aren’t you.
Are you selling for points?
I’d guess 85% of “evangelism” is for points. What about you? Are you sharing the gospel, or any recommendation for that matter, to win points?
Everyone oohs and aahs when you win a soul for Christ. Everyone respects you when you bring loads of friends to church. But is that why you share?
Do you share the gospel because it’s the right thing to do? Or do you share because you care about people? If you do care, do they know it? Does God?
Truth is not enough
Truth, as you know, is easy to share. Truth is bits and pieces. You and I can share truth in bite-sized chunks. Then duck.
Truth is part of love, but truth by itself is not love. Contrary to popular opinion, you do have to like people to love them. Love is a comprehensive package. You and particularly I forget that way, way too much… but the people we’re sharing with never do.
They don’t care about truth – they want love. I know because that’s why I’m a Christian: the love, not the truth.
Sharing truth will win you points. That’s why it’s dangerous – because it looks like you’re making progress. But it rarely influence anyone. So turn this around…
Share a message of love instead of a message of truth.
Serving Suggestions:
(1) Share your testimony with others but share it because you care about them as individuals, not because you want to “get someone saved.”
(2) Share what you know with others but share it because you care about them as individuals, not because you want to “set ‘em straight.”
Twitter Updates
Dude. This. Rocks.
I couldn’t agree more. Except I’d say that maybe 90 or 95% of evangelism is for points. Of course, that’s arbitrary and unfair of me to judge the evangelists, but that’s what I think.
And I believe that evangelism without love is nearly useless evangelism. The first commandment is to love God. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. Evangelism, at best, is number 11.
hahaha I almost went higher on the percentage myself… but I knew I was just making it up, and perhaps my friends and I aren’t a good representation of how fantastic Christianity really is.
But yeah, I think evangelism is part of that second one. If we love others, right, we’ll share the best news in the world with them. But it has to come from a desire to care for them, not convince them to be like us.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
Such a great reminder that it’s not about competition, what we can do, or anything else- it’s about Jesus and showing His love.
Thanks, Marshall.
Thanks, Jason. Love is so big, isn’t it?
-Marshal Jones Jr.
Hey, thanks for the great word. However, I have tended to err on the side of love rather than truth. That’s because I’m recovering from people-pleasing (winning points–I want people to like me and I don’t want to offend). But the gospel message at its core will offend some people no matter how loving I am. So, for me, who finds it easier to love than tell truth, telling truth is the most loving thing I can do.
Fantastic point, Steve. I know we can all tend to err to one side or another. I think of love as truth plus grace. If you’re all truth, no one cares because it doesn’t matter to them. If you’re all grace, again no one cares because it’s not based in anything real, like Santa for example.
Thanks for sharing the other side and balancing this out.
-Marshall Jones Jr.