Commentary: Gentle Persuasion

I’ve pondered this question lately: What is my work as a disciple of Jesus Christ and how should I go about it?

I think I’ve come up with a simple definition of my work. My work is to change minds and thereby change hearts. It was the work of Jesus.

So, if that’s my work, how am I supposed to go about it? When I meet someone who holds a different world view than I, who voices and lives out philosophies that are contrary to mine, when persons act and live in ways that I see as dangerous, what am I to do.

That’s the tough part.I could choose to make all the common mistakes:

1. I could argue; make all the right points loudly enough so that I melt down the other person’s view and fill a room with nodding heads.

2. I could intimidate the other person; make them feel less educated, less sophisticated.

3. I could label them and look for ways to identify them as such to my family, friends, co-workers, and the whole world so as to alienate them.

4. I could campaign for a law that would make the other person’s view illegal.

5. I could even go so far as to call down fire and brimstone on their heads and declare them headed to hell.

An old adage comes to mind, “A person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still.”

The words of a gospel song come to mind. Remember these lines?

Soft as the voice of an angel
Breathing a lesson unheard,
Hope with a gentle persuasion
Whispers her comforting word.

Remember “Whispering Hope”? Two words jump at me from that song: gentle persuasion.

I’ve changed my mind and my heart in the past. So how did it happen?

Sometimes I changed my mind when I saw someone living in a way that I admired, and when, in a kind manner, they stated their view, I was drawn to their belief.

Sometimes I changed my mind when someone respected my view, asked me to explain it, and I struggled for a believable answer.Sometimes I was driven to study and revise my belief by a simple suggestion or question from someone who really seemed to care about me.

I think I’ve found a clue to how I should go about my work.

Glad we could get together.