So my friend handed me a fake million dollar bill that someone at her work had been handed by a costumer. I turned it over and read this:
The million dollar question: will you go to heaven when you die? Here's a quick test. Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God's name in vain? Jesus said, "Whoever looks at a women to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Have you looked with lust? Will you be guilty on judgement day? If you have done those things, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart. The Bible warns that if you are guilty you will end up in hell. that's not God's will. He sent his son to suffer and die on the cross for you. You broke God's law, but Jesus paid your fine. That means He can legally dismiss your case. He can commute your death sentence. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Then he rose from the dead and defeated death. Please, repent (turn away from sin) today and trust alone in Jesus, and God will grant you the gift of everlasting life, then read your Bible daily and obey it.
The ice cream employee had been handed an infamous tract, most likely by an extremely right-winged Christian who said something witty when he/she had handed it to the girl. Most likely to the affect of "Here's a million dollars to save your life" or maybe "Here, keep the tip. God bless you."
I read yesterday in the New York Times that archeologists found what was believed to be another chapter in the book of Matthew 2 years ago, and finally have been able to translate a few sentences of it:
And Jesus said unto them, "Don't you dare give people little pieces of paper that try to convince them to be saved by me. I mean...seriously. How stupid do you have to be to do that? Trying to explain Christianity in a little booklet is like trying to explain the biological functions of a bear in one sentence, or trying to explain how to make a MACBOOK PRO out of two sticks and a raccoon hat."
People that evangelize wonder why some people get so offended when they go out and tell people that "Jesus loves you and he died on the cross for your sins, did you know that?". I propose that asking someone that is like asking someone if they knew the sky was blue, or if they knew the story of "The 3 Little Pigs".
The I feel that the majority of people (I'm talking about in America) know the story of Christianity. In fact, they know a lot about different religions. A lot of people know that if you're Muslim you get 40 virgins if you go to paradise, if you're a Catholic you believe that the Virgin Mary is really important, if you're Jewish you aren't supposed to eat certain things, that there's Allah and God, and Mohammed and Jesus, etc.etc. The point is: a lot of people know the story of Christianity, just as they do with a lot of other religions. The tough part of religion is not knowing the stories of each one, but believing the concepts, stories, and teachings of them.
Pyschology 101
Question: Can you get someone (you don't even know) to add to/change/rearrange their belief system and their lifestyle based on any sort of paper handout?
Answer: Of course not you idiot, don't you have any sort of common sense?
If you give someone on the street a Harry Potter book, they might like the story, but they definitely won't believe in wizards based off the book.
If you give someone on the street a tract about Christianity, they might like the story, but they definitely won't believe the message based off the tract.
But if someone saw a wizard in action; making things fly, casting spells that make food appear, making potions that make you look like someone else, then they would be much more likely to believe in magic and wizards.
If someone saw a Christian in action; living selflessly, loving everyone without any sort of catch, trying to better themselves as a person before trying to "fix" other people, showing integrity, living concepts of Jesus Christ, being honest about their life--then they would be much more likely to believe that there is a God that loves them, a Christ that died for them, and salvation to be found.
To my brothers and sisters who are not Christian: I deeply and sincerely apologize for all the ignorant Christians that you have and will encounter that try to sell their religion to you as if it's something that can be marketed. These people are very far away from what (I believe) it means to be a Christian. But, they are stuck in their tradition, in their living life with the blinders on--refusing to think of the consequences of their actions by being so narrow minded and stupid.
To my brothers and sisters who are Christian: I deeply and sincerely ask you to stop handing out tracts to people. If you believe that your God, your Christ, your salvation...can be explained in anything short of a life lived, than you have not even begun to grasp your religion. People should know you by your good works, not by your loud and abrasive words and your small print booklets. You can't "win one over for God" (which by the way, is STILL, TOTALLY, and UTTERLY missing the point) through being door to door sales representatives. Be it at your school, your work, your campus, your friends... no one wants to be gently coerced into buying things. But when you actually talk with someone. Actually get to know someone, actually care (and NOT caring because you have intention of sharing your religion, but care because you truly appreciate them as a person), you would be surprised how open people are. But it takes genuinely caring about them first. This means caring about them without hiding the Bible behind your back, like on some sort of secret mission.
We all want to choose for ourselves, not be bullied or persuaded into being this that or the other. The sooner Christians can understand this, the better it will be.
Oh, be joyful.
