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"Please, Lord, Save Me From Your Followers" By Lorelei Nettles What kind of bumper sticker would you inspire?
s I was carrying my clothes from a Laundromat some years ago, I saw a few bumper stickers on the car next to mine. I love to read bumper stickers. They are a window into the mind of the owner of the vehicle. Whether they are expressing humor, travel, love, anger or hate, they tell a little story about what that particular person is like or what he or she has experienced. One of the bumper stickers on this particular car intrigued me. It said, "Please, Lord, save me from Your followers!" That's quite a statement to have plastered across your bumper. It made me wonder about the owner of the car and what might have happened to bring on these feelings. Did this person not believe in God? Or worse yet, had the person turned away from God? My first emotion was sadness and then pity. I wanted to tear the sticker off and replace it with something pleasant and uplifting. I wanted to reach out and touch the person so he or she wouldn't feel such anger. Of course, that idea was ridiculous, as it seemed to me, that this person would probably never accept such a message. Yet it seemed that this person had already been influenced by what others had said or done. Obviously, he or she had felt threatened or offended by those whose bumper stickers might have read, "Follow the Lord." Driving people into hiding I remember once when a new church moved into my neighborhood. A few of the members came by my home to drop off a welcome message card with an invitation to attend their church and a hope that I would be saved. This was a nice gesture and I thought at the time that it was a pleasant way to introduce their church. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there.
I knew that they felt they were doing good and meant well, but at what cost? My neighbors told me that they hid in their homes and shut off the lights when they saw these churchgoers coming, afraid to deal with more of their questions and their pressure to convert them and make them attend their church. Is this what the proselytizers wanted, to drive people into hiding in their own homes? Not likely, but they are the people who first came to my mind when I read that bumper sticker. Certainly, this is not the only kind of action that can intimidate, but it's one example. Could it be that a similar thing happened to the owner of that car? Then I asked myself if I was ever guilty of the same kind of offense. Did that bumper sticker apply to me in any way? Was I turning people from God instead of leading them toward Him? While I may not knock on doors or stand on the corner with flyers to try to save those around me, my conduct and words may insult, scare or pressure others. So I wondered, what kind of bumper sticker would I inspire? What might it say about me? Would it say something uplifting? Would it make others smile, cringe, hate or weep? It really made me stop and think. Sometimes, we can offend just by pushing our opinions on others. We can show ourselves in a way that may seem hypocritical or we can simply offend by being showy with our beliefs. On the other hand... Have you ever met people who inspired you to do wonderful things? Are there people you want to emulate because they are full of joy and happiness? Have you come across people who awe you with their generosity and kindness or who are so insightful you want to gobble up all the wisdom they carry within them? There have been people like that in my life. They are the people who I believe would inspire uplifting bumper stickers because of their lifestyles, works and words. I long to be like them, to know what they know and to have the joy they carry with them every day. They don't cause me to run inside and shut off my lights. On the contrary, I want them around -- I welcome them in with open arms.
I would often go to her home just to visit or for the occasional dinner. Whenever I came by, I would find her studying her Bible or making up something terrific in her kitchen for one function or another. When she wasn't working at her full-time job, she was at church, a Bible study, helping some of the other older women from her church. (Mind you, she was then in her 70s herself and is now in her 90s.) She was often out driving someone to and fro, working on a fund-raiser or spending time with her grandchildren. Loraine was and is an inspiration to me. She was always on the go, always there to lend a helping hand or just to talk. If she couldn't do it for you, she would recommend someone who could. She never pushed her beliefs on me or anyone else, but was willing to answer questions when asked.
We know God calls us to Him and no one can come to Him otherwise (1 Corinthians 1:26; Ephesians 1:18); but we, by our actions and words, can easily influence someone in a way that may cause a rejecting of that calling. Or we can make a person feel their calling more strongly. "Please, Lord, save me from Your followers"? No one would feel the need to be "saved" from Loraine. In fact, if Loraine had lived next to the owner of that bumper sticker, the message might have eventually come off. Maybe having a few more people like her around could even wipe out the memory of that person's bad experiences so far. That is, as long as other "followers" didn't continue to insult, scare or offend. So, think about it. How do you influence people? What kind of bumper sticker would you inspire? Recommended reading Check out this free booklet: . Copyright 2008 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
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Keywords: proselytizing example personal example
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