"What can I help you find today?"
Standing in front of the section that held all of their moisturizing cremes and lotions, I asked, "Which of these would say is the absolute best for dry skin?" A simple question for this type of store, I expected her to point out one or two products and was ready to sample them and choose my favorite scent.
Her response, "Well, actually, it doesn't matter what moisturizer you use. The key to defeating dry skin is to exfoliate. Do you exfoliate?"
A bit thrown by her response, but not unaware of the concept, I said, "Yes I do, but…"
She interrupted to continue, "People don't give enough credit to exfoliating. You can lather on tons of lotion, but you won't get soft skin without exfoliating…blah…blah…blah."
I'm not saying blah, blah to save time. I really have no idea what came next. By this point I'd realized she was not going to answer my question, and her voice became an adult on Charlie Brown cartoons. I'll pause while you make the sound for fun. Okay, back to the story. You see, she missed my question. I didn't ask her the key to defeating dry skin. I asked her which moisturizer was best. Had she given me an answer to my initial question, she would likely have kept my attention and made a sale that day. Instead, she got my drill team smile, and a polite thank you as I exited as soon as she took enough of a breath for me to excuse myself without being rude. Even when she initially asked her ever important exfoliating question, she could have held onto me, had she just heard me say "yes, I do." Unfortunatley, she steamrolled over that opportunity to get back on track, and lost me completely.
As I quickly strolled away, vowing in my head never to return unless I want a lecture, I was shaking my head at her failure to listen well. This week, as God began to put the idea of listening on my heart, this encounter came back to me, and the lesson of conviction slid right home with it. How many times have I been guilty of the same thing. Someone asks me a question, a simple question about God, church, the Bible, Jesus, heaven, etc and instead of taking the time to listen, I launch into my practiced lecture on something kind of related, but COMPLETELY MISS THE QUESTION! How many of those people were hearing the "WAH WAH WAH" of Charlie Brown's mom, and waiting for their first opportunity to escape me for good! Why do I do this? Why do we do this? Why do we fail to listen?
The simple answer is we overcomplicate things. The questions people ask us about God are typically simple. The answers may feel complex, but the truths about God that matter most, the things that are crucial to someone coming to know the Lord, accepting Jesus Christ, and changing their eternal destiny are not really hard. Sure there are some complex concepts out there; there are things left in mystery that we are never going to understand this side of heaven, but I can confidently say most of the times I've been asked questions by someone really in need, really seeking God, the question being asked and it's accompanying answer were not that complex. I let my fear of getting the answer right, my pride of wanting to sound knowledgeable, or my ignorance for lack of being prepared overcomplicate a simple situation. We must be ready at all times with the simple answers to the simple questions about God. 2 Timothy 4:2 says,
"Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching."
To be ready at all times means we must be in close contact with God all the time. We should be praying daily for opportunities to encounter those with questions, praying to be good listeners, and praying for the simple answers to be on the tip of our tongues. God will answer these prayers, but He tells us clearly that we don't have what we don't ask for. We can't let fear overtake us, because to do so means we think it all depends on us when we should know it all depends on Him. We have to stop our pride from running rampant and causing us to grandstand because that actually makes us an obstacle to God's plan rather than a instrument of His plan. We can't let ignorance be an option at all, so we must read the Bible, pray, and attend church regularly. God uses all of these things to plant in us what we will need at the opportune time.
And most importantly, learn to pause. Take a breath, look the person speaking to you dead in the eye, and LISTEN, please, to what the person is saying. If someone asks you, "Am I going to go to hell because I'm getting a divorce?" You don't go into a deep lecture on what Jesus said in Matthew about divorce, you listen. This person is going through a heartbreaking experience and is afraid he now faces eternal damnation. Your answer is simple, "If you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He died for your sins, and that He has defeated death so you can live forever with God in heaven, then absolutely not!" Then pause, and listen to what they say/ask next. If a teenager asks you, "Aren't all religions just praying to the same God?" You don't need to go into a history of Abraham, Isaac and Ismael or talk about polytheism vs monotheism (if you don't know those words, it really is okay). Listen and recognize this is a young person at a crucial time in her life trying to decide what she believes for herself. She needs clear and simple truth. You simply need to know to say, "No they are not. There is only one true God." As believers, our answers don't need to be politically correct, watered down, condescending, or overly didactic. They need to be loving, honest, clear, and kind. I don't know what question you may face next, but I do know the worst answer you can give is to not answer simply and clearly.
The next time you face one of these moments, I hope you'll think of me and my quest for a good moisturizer and remember to listen.
"Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish."
Proverbs 18:13
