Proverbs 25:17 ¶ Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour’s
house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
This is certainly about overstaying your
welcome. This is true about visiting friends or countries that “liberate” and
occupy other countries. This goes along with the previous Proverb on overdoing
something and excess.
Let’s talk about telling others about the
Gospel. Evangelical Christians, those who spend time propagating the faith by
things like handing out tracts, knocking on doors, and street preaching need to
learn to not only be respectful of other people’s property but of their time.
Stopping someone rushing on their way to work and trying to get them into a
conversation about where they’re going to spend eternity might just not produce
the results you would like although it may make you feel good, as if you’ve
done your part. But, you haven’t. Turning people away with disrespectful
behavior is not a way to point someone to the Saviour.
I am particularly sensitive to people who have
no respect for my time, people who seem to feel that my life is totally
meaningless in that whatever I would have to do is unimportant or that the
pressures I face mean nothing. If you are constantly wearing people’s patience
thin and don’t seem to know when to leave maybe you should realize you’re a
shallow boor and set yourself a time limit. On a busy street or at the gas
pumps in the morning maybe it’s best to hand the person a gospel tract and then
leave it open to talk but acknowledge you understand they’re probably in a
hurry. If this is a “divine appointment” then they’ll start asking you
questions, but if not, they’ll move on. I say “divine appointment” because
sometimes God puts people in your path or you in theirs in order to lead them
closer to Him.
At someone’s door the conversation should be
brief unless they invite you in or they come outside to talk further. Don’t
stand there for a half hour while a person tries to politely hold the door open
but keep you from coming inside. Some people are just too polite to say “go
away” but their heart becomes harder and harder as you talk on seemingly
endlessly. You should be sensitive to the person who wants to know more and to
the person who just wants to get back to enjoying their time at home.
Just remember, God is not lucky to have you on His team.
You are not doing God a favor. He doesn’t need any of us to save anyone and He
does the actually saving anyway. We usually just plant seeds. Be respectful of
other people’s time and property. You are not advertising for a pizza delivery
store. You are there to possibly meet with that one person who has been waiting
for someone like you to stop by and give them the Gospel of Salvation. That
tract you hand out at the gas pump may lie in a person’s floorboard for days or
weeks before it is read, long after the person has forgotten who gave it to
them. Make sure the tract has some contact information on it, at least someone
they can call or email if they so choose, but at best the physical address of a
church they can visit.
You are not trying to make a sale. You do not
have to have an immediate decision. You might reap a harvest but then, most of
the time, you are merely planting a seed. Don’t belabor the issue. There is
nothing worse for you than to have someone see you approach their front door,
their teeth grinding and their blood pressure spiking, just dreading that you
are going to be an obnoxious, rude, pest, and then finding out their fears were
correct.
Finally, don’t take rejection personally. Some
people reject Christ dozens of times before they receive Him. Others, most,
never receive Christ as their Saviour. It’s not about you. It’s about Him. You
are just a messenger.
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