Does It Really Matter Part 2

Yes, there are more than two sides to yesterday's question. The third side is the rather obvious one I'm sure you saw yesterday, when asked, "Does it really matter where they go?"

I watched a video on soul winning called Practice What You Preach. There's a whole series available to listen to free on the website Way of the Master. One of the points that they made was sometimes the person may not make a decision then and there as to whether they want to get saved or not, but they take that information with them and think about it later. They may even approach someone else who will help lead them to Jesus, but because of your actions, it started them on the path to being saved.

To some people Christianity may look like their way of not dealing with reality. Actually, it is our way of dealing with reality. Because we are saved, we have the keys to understanding reality and know that we're going to be okay because we belong to God. It's more than just coincidence that when you're a Christian and you're struggling with life, whether it be life in general or a specific matter in your life, God sends several people that don't know your struggles or even each other, to minister to you.

Anything you do can be a ministry. Even if it's working at McDonald's. It would be nice to drive thru and have someone sincerely tell me to "Have a nice day!" If it wasn't for the sign that reads "thank you, come again" sometimes I wouldn't even get a "Thank you!" You never know who God is going to place in someone's path after they meet you. It seems to me that God might sometimes use soft words to soften someone's heart.

A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger.

-Proverbs 15:1

I can't tell you how many times I stood in line behind someone who took their anger out on the clerk that was waiting on them because of a petty mistake. Okay, that might have been me a couple of times, but I have seen someone take their anger out on someone else for no reason other than for the shear fact that someone else had made them angry before they even walked in the store. The clerk got a little frazzled, but kept her composure and just kept apologizing even though it wasn't her fault. They lady finally gave up on what looked to me like trying to pick a fight and took her purchase and left.

I'm "one of those people" that look at things that happen and analyze them in my mind. I look back on circumstances that have brought me where I am today. To be at a place where I am willing and able to serve, I would not give up one thing, good or bad, that has ever happened to me. Does it really matter where they go? Yes, it does. I can't sit here doing nothing, knowing that I have the ability to make a change in someone's life, believer or unbeliever. I may not personally "win souls" for God, but I can do my part so that someone else who is doing their part can. Also, I can provide an outlet for other believers who think they are inadequate to make a difference in someone's life. The encouragement that I get when someone lets me know that something I've said or done has touched their life, lets me know that I am fulfilling my purpose. It's a feeling I want to help other believers be able to have for themselves.

I don't know which I'd rather be, the one being ministered to or the one doing the ministering. When you follow God's direction, you can have your cake and eat it too!