Making A Difference vs. Making A Point

If you're like me, you like to prove people wrong when they make ridiculous claims. I'll never forget when Brent Boschman claimed he could eat 3 boxes of Mac & Cheese in one sitting. Joe Smith quickly called him out. To our surprise, not only did the man eat 3 boxes of Mac & Cheese but he did it in under 30 minutes. What initially was us trying to make a point that his claim was absurd, Brent threw it back in the face of all his doubters and proved us all wrong. Brent made his point!

There is nothing wrong with proving your point. I do it all the time. But the question I want to ask is, are you more concerned with proving a point than making a difference? I want to focus on Christians who feel like they need to make a point, proving their faith in Christ at whatever the cost rather than caring and loving people in an effort to make a difference. We shove evangelism in their face or through a track without genuinely loving someone. We talk over others in an effort to 'win' the discussion. We rarely listen, not knowing you can learn a lot about a person by simply listening to them. We think we are making an impact for Christ when we argue with other religious people or agnostics. We think our stupid "Christ-like" bumper stickers or Christianese cliches will attract people to the Gospel. We win 'battles' but in reality we lose the war. Have you ever had a conversation with someone that was overly passionate or unattractively pressuring you into believing what they believed, whether that is Christianity, products, sports, or any other kind of knowledge? Even if you agree with them, more often than not you take the other side just to possibly prove them wrong. I'm afraid our techniques in evangelism is actually causing more harm than good.

Philadelphia Flyer coach Peter Lavoilette says, "Don't just play the game to let it go by, play the game to make a difference." We play sports in hopes of making a difference in the outcome of the game. We've all been there. Thinking about making the last minute shot or goal and becoming the town hero for the evening. Just like in sports, we should be more concerned with making a difference than making a point. Are people attracted to you because you show them the love of Christ? Do people know you actually care about them? Do people feel comfortable telling you what they think or believe, knowing you won't pass judgment? People will never listen to what you have to say about Christianity until they know you genuinely care for them.