Christian Living

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There was a vacuum cleaner salesman on my front porch.

I didn’t know these guys still went door-to-door, but there he stood with his goods in tow, eager to declare my carpet filthy and show me how his miraculous machine could change that.

Did he get inside? Yes, but only because my children thought it would be rude to send him away.

The salesman’s timing was off, colliding with a Saturday tradition not to be messed with: college football.

My husband and pals had converted the family room into a make-shift stadium. Armchair quarterbacks, they were shouting, high-fiving and inhaling hot wings, so engrossed in the game that they failed to notice the wings were of “Esophagus-Destroying- Hotter-than-You-Know-Where” strength.

If the wings couldn’t get their attention, that salesman had zero chance. With 10 seconds in the third quarter, and the ball on the two-yard line, these guys were not—NOT—open to a vacuum cleaner demonstration.

Boldly, he pushed on. “This baby can pick up a bowling ball.”

“But can it throw a football?” one of the guys challenged.

“It can do better than that,” the salesman said, blocking the TV as he unloaded attachments from his carry-case. “Let me show—“

Now, I won’t say the guys punted him to the curb. Drop-kicked is more like it—nicely and politely, but with a firm message: buh-bye.

I felt sorry for the salesman. Though pushy, he was attempting to earn an honest living. It bit dust in a big way, reminding me of some witnessing experiences—those that began with good intentions, but left me fearing I’d done more to harm the gospel than further it.

When it comes to witnessing, some people say we should wait until the “time is right.” When is the time right? Awaiting conditions to perfectly align could be like waiting for a caravan of turtles to cross Texas. Will the day ever come?

2 Timothy 4:2 says “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” From this we learn that we’re to share the gospel, even when the welcome mat isn’t visible. While this doesn’t command us to wreck pool parties by bursting forth with brimstone alerts, it does mean we should always be ready to speak of Christ, whether opportunity presents itself or needs to be created.

“You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.” (Ezekiel 2:7, NIV)

Speech counts, as we read in Colossians 4:5-6. “Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Whether planting a seed or sharing a testimony, we need to witness with encouragement, patience, gentleness, truthfulness and thanks and praise to God.

Approach also matters, and some Christians get themselves labeled holier-than-thou and judgmental—sad, because those qualities don’t accurately represent Christ. In 1 Corinthians 9: 15-23, Paul writes, “I have become all things to all men,” along with “To the Jews, I became like a Jew, to win the Jews” and “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.” He gave other examples, too, illustrating that he related to and found common ground with the people he witnessed to.

There are many ways to witness, and what’s best depends on the situation. In 2 Corinthians 3 4-6, we’re taught that our competence as ministers comes not from ourselves, but from the Spirit, which is why effective witnesses are ones who pray first, then obey the Holy Spirit’s urging.

Back to the salesman, he might’ve scored points if he’d put a different play in motion—connecting on a “sports fan” level, planting a few seeds about his vacuum, leaving product info, and—my favorite—offering to return after the game and demonstrating his voracious vacuum inhaling the colossal mess those couch coaches made in the family room.

There were ways to possibly turn this unreceptive crowd into potential customers, just as there are ways to present the Truth to unwilling unbelievers. What they do with the truth is beyond our control—only the Holy Spirit can convict people of unbelief (John 16: 8-9), but He’ll lead us to testify with power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Let’s call on Him as we begin to call on others. We just might get our foot in the door.



©Donna G. Morton May 2006

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