Saturday, October 07, 2006

Be ready with an answer in season and out of season!

Ok, we are in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa, right? We go to get a vaccine for Mariama downtown, at the only place you can get this vaccine. Anyway, while waiting to tell the man at the entrance what we need, this American woman in front of me turns around and asks if we are American. She asks where we are from, and I answer Texas. So she asks if I like Bush, which I answer affirmatively. She then asks how long we have been here and what we do. She then asks, "And you like Bush?" She asks what we think about the war, and the lives lost. I was so taken aback by this questioning in this particular setting. What could I have said? "Well, God tells us to pray for our leaders whether we like them or not, whether we agree with them or not." Did I say that? No! Did I say, "I have confidence in our troops and their training, particularly since my brother is one of our finest and they can use our prayers as well"? No! I said something like, "War is the way of the world," though I did not get my thought finished about it being due to man's sinfulness. I really hate feeling stupid! I also hate missing an opportunity to witness to anyone! I do not know what this woman is doing here in Senegal. But I lost a chance to share truth with her, because I was so caught off guard by the situation. Rich said he wanted to chime in that I am smart, really I am, but I was not coming across very smart nor very Christ-like. Colossians 4:6 instructs, "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one." I pray that my encounters like this will cease to exist as I wait for God's answer to others, rather than my own pitiful excuse for a reply.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Lisa, being caught off guard is what the enemy prefers - so do practice drills, like fire drills in schools. One of the ways you can put a "fire out" when you are caught off guard is by answering them with a question, too. "Where are you from?" or ""Why are you here?" Questions that show concern for them as a person, an individual. And the response, "I'm not sure that I can answer that in this siutation, but I would love to make an appointment with you and discuss it". You ARE a very smart person. Just like when the children wait until we are on the phone to try to get our attention, the enemy waits until we are distracted with other things to sneak up on us. I am somewhat confident that you did not lose an opportunity to witness...what you "lost" (not really) was the drill with a demon on how you would respond. Practice, practice, practice. Decide ahead of time how you will respond!!
I love you!
Nancy