1. today, i bought some burt's bees lip balm. i balked a little at the price (3.50!), but decided it could be worth it. as soon as i left the bookstore, i popped the yellow cap, turned the wheel, and applied a liberal amount to my parched lips. it was glorious. needless to say, i don't feel girly putting on chapstick anymore. or, i don't care enough to abstain.
2. a group of 3 or 4 guys were going around grounds today, "preaching" at students and other passers by. except their brand of preaching can probably be better characterized as berating/yelling/condemnation. what made it so frustrating was that they were teaching sound biblical doctrine, just in such an insensitive and downright rude way. i'm pretty sure the first "rule" of evangelism is that it must be done out of love. yelling over people and screaming about how they will go to hell is not gonna help people see the love and acceptance that can be found in christ. i even overheard two guys at the bus stop saying something along the lines of, "i'd probably listen if the guy just calmed down and wanted to have a discussion over coffee or something. this is the perfect way to turn off everyone who happens to hear you talk." thats the way i've always seen it. make relationships. develop trust. share personal testimonies. win them over through love.
anyway, it led me to think about the way i carry myself and portray christ through my actions. i realized there are things i do and ways that i act that can be just as bad an influence as yelling about people going to hell. although my actions may not be as egregious, or affect such a wide group of people, i still am responsible for the way i act. even if it's only around a group of my close friends. i was so quick to point out this (rather large) piece of sawdust in their eyes, yet i didn't see the 2 x 4 in mine.
thought provoking day.
1. i have burt's bees lip balm too! one in my bathroom (use it morning+night), backpack (use it while i'm at school, whenever, wherever), and one in my purse (usually use this on on the weekends). I LOVE IT! i'm glad you decided to moisturize your lips. GOOD FOR YOU!
ReplyDeletehehe i always thing it's funny the way guys put on chapstick because they try to put it on non femininely. and i totally agree that you have to love first with evangelism. and i'm gonna be more careful with the way i carry myself too because it really does affect other people :)
ReplyDeletehahaha i can't believe you bought burt's bees.
ReplyDeleteanyway...so this is not exactly related except in the sense that it's about evangelism, but the other day i read this whole article about evangelism to the "iGens" (i think that's us) and the idea that if we don't have a sense of morality, because of ingrained relativism, then calling us sinners (which used to be quite effective with older generations) is meaningless and won't bring us to christ. i think that's right, a lot of the times, just thinking about my nonchristian friends. the "4 spiritual laws" version of evangelism is ineffective because they would love step 1 (God loves you and has a plan for your life) but stop me around step 2: sin separates you from God.
oh look...i found the article. you probably don't care, but read it anyway.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/communitylife/evangelism/thegospelforigens.html
you know what's funny? the people i've seen do that kind of evangelism defend what they're doing by saying it's the "most loving thing" that they can do for people.
ReplyDeletei get what they mean, but yea, i wouldn't do it that way either.