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The Secret is Caring
Good Day to you!
It’s kinda nice to have someone give us a nice warm greeting each day, isn’t it?
I once knocked on a door of someone’s home as I was inviting people to a special event at our church, and was quite shocked when the owner of the home opened the door and, before I could say a word, launched into a multi-syllable cuss fest about how much of a “hypocrite you are for walking across the street from your church to talk to me when you could care less about me! You just want to show everyone you are better than them and act like you are so holy!”
This tirade went on for about five minutes, but lasted for an eternity – it seemed to me anyway. The funny thing was, this was decades earlier when our society wasn’t quite as turned off to cold call invitations. But this house was maybe a few hundred feet from our church building. I was totally shocked to hear such negative words directed at my character.
I have since learned to not take this kind of thing personally (I very much recommend a special brand of duck-feather oil – you will live a happier and longer life!)
Anyhoo… yeah, this blew a little wind out of my sails at the time. What shocked me was that this lady had me all wrong. Or did she?
As I considered her words, I realized that she was wrong in that I wasn’t out there to make anyone feel bad, or think i was more holy than they. I was out to merely be used by God to offer eternal hope to people.
At the same time, she was also right – I did NOT care about her personally. I mean, how could I? I had never met her. Sometimes we need to show people we care before we do anything else. This woman had probably been preached to and “evangelized” many times before by well-meaning church people, or others not as well-meaning.
I have learned that I need God’s compassion for others. I have seen that when I show someone care, concern, compassion, they are very open to hearing anything I have to say.
I used to think it was what I KNEW that would change the world. Now I know that it isn’t about what I KNOW, its about how deeply I CARE. True love and compassion has moved many mountains in our world.
Ask God to give you His compassion for others. And then, once you care, ask Him to show you how to show that love and concern.
The secret lies not in KNOWING, the SECRET IS – CARING!
Until Next Time
Jeff
Check out updates for my upcoming book with co-author MIKE STEHR at https://www.facebook.com/GetTheLifeBook
Hey Jeff, When I worked in sales, one of the things our managers used to tell us is that we had to “close the sale” at the end of every meeting which meant “ask for the business”. I used to tell my manager I was not going to ask for the business until I earned the right to do so. He would say “How are you going to know when you’ve earned the right”? I used to say “I just know”. Now that I haven’t been “selling” for awhile I’ve been able to look at this from a bit of a distance. I can see now, that what it was that made me “just know” was a level of investment, a level of intimacy that led me to truly understand their need. I think that too is important as we reach out to people who haven’t invited Jesus to be The Lord of their life. Perhaps this digs down a little into the definition of “Caring” or just another way of saying it.
Thanks for the thought provoking article.
Julie
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Thank you so much Julie!
That is so true, that this reality is a big part of the art of “serving” vs “selling” as you experienced in your profession. Personally I feel better about buying something from a salesperson that seems interested in servicing my need rather than just selling me something in haste.
Great insight I appreciate that!