Stop Offending

Our evangelistic methods often bring a variety of criticisms. We frequently hear, "I just think that you are offending people, can't you just emphasize more love? I mean, don’t you think that it's counter-productive in bringing people to Christ by saying such controversial things?" The following story is our response to such thinking:

There was a man who developed a cure for a disease that was ravaging his community. The antidote was pretty rotten smelling and even worse tasting, but it brought about a complete cure, so long as the individuals stayed in a separated area, and continued taking the recommended dosage. Unfortunately there was a lot of complaining going on amongst those who were beginning to take the formula with regard to its repugnance to the senses. Caving into pressure, the good doctor decided to lessen a few of the harsher ingredients. The result was good. The antidote was clearly much easier to digest, more pleasant to the senses and still seemed to be effectual in curing the horrific disease that was still destroying his little village. Unfortunately there were those who would still complain a bit of the residual odors and faint hint of the lessened ingredients. Especially newcomers who were trying to get some of their old infected acquaintances to come into the doctors clinic and receive the antidote. Under pressure to make it more appetizing for these hesitant hopefuls the good doctor again made a few modifications to his recipe, which amidst much debate and controversy led to a series of modifications over a period of time. As the doctors facilities grew larger and larger with more and more patients he began to sit back and assess the state of his affairs. As he walked about the village and saw the continued effects of this terrible, cursed disease he was amazed to see that there was very little difference in these victims than there was in his own patients! To his shock, his patients, while still being isolated from the general infected population and still taking his cure regularly were now in the same condition, with little exception, as those who had no treatment! “What could be the cause of this?” He thought to himself. Hurrying into his laboratory and taking out a sample of his precious antidote he began conducting a rigorous set of tests, discovering to his chagrin that the antidote had lost its potency! Being diluted and modified so much to people’s personal liking it had lost all its strength. It was no longer the same cure. Although his patients continued to come to his facilities and enjoyed being under his care, receiving the prescribed remedy daily, they were unaffected. Remaining still visibly in a full state of disease, closing in on death. ‘How horrible’, he thought to himself! How horrible indeed.