I used to work for a farm and home retailer that was always looking to increase market share. The CEO would commonly ask questions like, "When you came to a new market, were there cows on the loose? Were there a lot of skinny animals? Were the people of the town naked?" His point was this, someone in this new market was taking care of our customers needs. "How are we going to convince them they need to buy from us? What can we do that will set us apart from our competition?"
These were great questions that begged for more research. Anybody can set up a new business and start selling, but if your business is not relevant to the surrounding market, you may as well stop before you start.
Take the time to learn the people you are trying to reach. What's important to them? How will my product or service be of any use to the customer? How much can the market afford? Lastly, which is probably the hardest question; is my product or service only important to me?
If you answered yes to the last question, be careful. You may be teetering on the edge of arrogant irrelevance.
Sometimes, we have these brilliant ideas that could really affect the culture that we live in, but we end in failure because we try to use a giant shoe horn to persuade people to our point of view. Sure you may gain a few followers or patrons, but are you really making an impact? In most cases, we influence people to take a hard stance against our ideas, which in turn hardens the way for others with similar thoughts and aspirations.
In order to make the biggest impact or gain the biggest market share, you have to dissect your idea down to one question. Do I want to be relevant to the community or do I want the community to recognize my idea as relevant? One question looks to serve and the other looks to be served. This is where many businesses reach a stalemate in their path to success.
Why am I discussing business development principles? I believe many Christians take this same thought process when trying to make inroads for the Gospel with the people they encounter. We often fail to ask the right questions and we forge ahead with idealism and passion toward creating a real difference. However, we most often become as irrelevant as a rain drop to a bonfire.
I am concerned about the lack of compassion to the present surroundings. In Luke 17:20-21(a), Jesus was asked by a Pharisee(or religious authority) "When will the Kingdom of God come?" It took me a long time to realize this next bit, but Jesus says "Stop looking for signs and signals, the Kingdom of God is among you."
Many have read this passage and assumed Jesus was referring to himself, since the Pharisees were still anticipating a conquering hero, but I believe Jesus was also referring to the outcast, the poor, the widows, the helpless.
A friend of mine tells a story when he was summoned to speak at a conference on eradicating poverty. Dressed in his white pastor collar and sport coat, he had just phoned his friend for directions to the meeting and began to walk in that direction. He had noticed a man who was, as he put it "worse for wear", and tried to figure out how to move quickly as to avoid any conversation. Just then the man hollered, "Oy, mate!!" Next thing, my friend was trying to think about how much money he had to give or whether he was going to offer this man a meal or maybe both, but didn't have enough time since he was already running late. After stammering around the subject with the gentleman, the man said to my friend, "I don't want your f***in' money, I want to know your Jesus!" At that moment, my friend had realized "I've just professionalized my calling."
Does this sound like you? Have you been so focused on your idea or passion that you were too busy to notice what God had placed right in front of you?
We fall into such traps and deceptive lies. Somehow we began to believe we deserved our life, our dreams, our successes. God was here for us, right? He loved us so much, He sent His Son to save us, right? Why wouldn't He want ME to be happy?
Once you enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, you have to begin to recognize the sacrifice God gave because He loves you. Here's the part that stings; He didn't crucify His one and only Son just for only you......We were created for a purpose far greater than our own ideas or abilities. We were created to reflect the love of Christ and His redemptive story to a lost and dying world. There is nothing in comparison you can fully commit your life to apart from the instruction and leadings of Jesus Christ. If you even take one step in the direction of your own strength, you have disrespected the authority of God and His sovereignty over ALL things.
If you want to change the world, great!! Start with you. Surrender to the author and perfecter of our faith(b) Jesus Christ. Allow Christ to tear off the scales from your eyes and begin to allow Him to show you the world as He sees it. We are all God's children, and in regards to those it is our job and only job as Christ followers to love them as ourselves.(c)
I met a missionary recently on a vision trip to Iowa and we were talking about this subject. He told me this story:
He and his family went to serve in a village in Africa and many of the women did not wear shirts. As a man this proved a great temptation, so next time they came he brought them all t-shirts. The women loved them and put them on immediately. Disaster averted, right? Well, the next time the family returned to this village, all of the ladies had cut holes out in the shirts, so their breasts wouldn't feel so constricted while they were working. Needless to say, He learned a valuable lesson towards understanding what's important to the people he was serving.
This poses and interesting question. If we perceive a sinful lifestyle being lived, shouldn't we help them understand their sin? If we allow it to be normal, does it mean we are then condoning and enabling them to sin?
I will finish with one more story of how sometimes we think our godliness is right for everyone.
I have a friend who opened a coffee shop in East London to reach the people of the area for the Gospel. This is a very immigrant area, and several refugees live there as well. This is also the former industrial area of London. Buildings are rundown and graffiti litters their walls. Crime and nefarious things lurk among those less fortunate. One thing he noticed was that several prostitutes worked in that area, and this grieved his heart. He prayed about a way to help and God told him to start a bakery that would provide for the coffee shop. The way this was going to eradicate prostitution was to provide jobs. His reasoning was, "You can't tell someone their career is a sin, if don't provide an alternative for them to meet their needs." Most of these women didn't choose this life, but for various circumstances, it chose them. You cant tell a poor person to "Go get a job" if no one will hire them. Just as you can't convince people the product your selling is for them, if they have no use for it.
So what do we do?
"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need."
Matthew 6:33
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