Stewardship

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The Spiritually Sound
by Dan Blankenship
© 2006 Dan Blankenship




We all know them, people who seem to quote scripture without the slightest hesitation. They can name every part of ancient Jerusalem better than the landmarks in their own city. They’ve memorized enough of the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic versions of scripture to make the rest of us feel like mere mortals. They are the spiritually sound group, and they are impressive.

This spiritually sound group can sometimes do more damage than good concerning winning lost souls. A person may be able to tell another all about Jesus, all about faith, and list off the lineage that brought about salvation, but if the people they are talking to see the rest of the messenger’s life in disarray there is a tendency to doubt the power of the product.

If a man comes to me to tell me about this amazing new bodybuilding supplement and he can’t put a sentence together without a double negative in it, I am going to assume he probably hasn’t taken all the time to read up on the possible negative effects of the new product. Likewise, if a man comes to tell me about an amazing new computer program and he looks as if he hasn’t showered or shaved in a month, I am going to think he spent the last month trying to figure out the item he is pitching.

Sorry if the examples I’ve given seem to be a little judgmental. I may have overstated what I would think as a way to make it clear that Christians are trying to reach the lost. The “world” doesn’t necessarily see the world through the same eyes we do. Nor do they see the man who knows all about the Bible but can’t change a flat tire as a well-rounded inhabitant of this planet.

God made a physical world for us to understand and live in. If we ignore our own bodies and our own minds concerning the physical world that surrounds us, we limit our ability to successfully relate to others that need to know about Jesus.

I met a preacher who raised pigs on his farm but was also a pilot for a large commercial airline company. On one of his flights he left the cockpit for a restroom break. On his way back a first class passenger told him that he hadn’t seen the pilot flying much lately.

When the pilot told the man he had been busy with the pigs on his farm and had to take some time off, the passenger looked pale and shaky. “You’re a pig farmer?” the man asked, seemingly upset at discovering the pilot’s second job.

The pilot smiled and offered to tell the man what his third occupation was.

The man just nodded, not sure if anything could be worse than a pig farmer completely in control of his life.

“I’m a preacher,” the pilot added to the list.


“I think I’m going to be sick,” the man replied, laying his head against the window and trying to breathe normally.

See, that man on the flight, he had probably run into “spiritually sound” individuals who gave him the impression that being a Christian involved a closed mind, relishing only the words found in the Bible, while ignoring the words, studies, and discoveries of this amazing world God made.

Christians must be careful to not lead others to think that we believe our faith allows us to ignore the world around us. That is not the way to reach out to those who need to hear about Christ.

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