Two Phone Calls - Two Chances to Share

While making two phone calls this morning related to business I was able to share the complete plan of salvation with two customer service representatives that were very open and receptive to their need for salvation.

The first – after calling and ordering some product for our business, at the end of our phone call, I asked the lady if she had ever taken the ‘good person’ test. She hadn’t. I said it would only take a minute or two, and that if other calls were coming in and she needed to go – it wouldn’t be a problem and she should just let me know. We went through the commandments and she acknowledged guilt in each area. She was hoping to go to heaven, though, due to her confession and repentance. After hearing the courtroom analogy she readily agreed that simply confessing and repenting doesn’t change the fact a crime was committed. We probably spent 5 or 7 minutes, total, discussing her soul as she was very receptive. I encouraged her to repent and give her life to Christ before it is too late.

The second – I needed to call one of our major software vendors to discuss product registration questions. I called their 800 number and immediately got through (which was very nice). It didn’t take long to have my questions answered, at the end it was perfect, because the rep asked if there was anything else she could help me with. I said everything relating to the software was squared away, but I wondered if she had ever taken the good person test. She hadn’t – and I said it would only take a minute, and if other calls were coming in and she needed to go to just let me know… I even gave her a heads-up warning that everyone tends to fail the test – but I said it was fun and had a moral at the end.

I asked if she felt she was a good person, and she said yes. I asked if I could ask a few questions to see if that was true – and then asked if she was familiar with the 10 commandments. She wasn’t! I said most people are, and surely she has heard of some of them. I said one of them is “thou shalt not lie” and asked if she has ever lied – she had. I asked what that would make her, and she said a “temporarily bad person.” True, I said, but particularly, if I told lies what would she call me. She said it wouldn’t be a “liar” unless she knew the background information behind the lie. I said, “Isn’t it true that if I murder someone I’m a murdered, and if I lie, I’m a liar?” She agreed… So, we moved on to stealing, which she readily admitted. She had a hard time coming up with the word for someone that steals (a thief), so I helped her. Next was taking God’s name in vain, which she also readily admitted. For the fourth one, I actually gave her a choice – she could choose between murder and adultery. She laughed and said ‘murder’, but was a bit more serious as we went through the fact that God doesn’t simply see what we do, but also what we think. She acknowledged being angry at people, and laughed as we reviewed her confessed condition: a lying, thieving, blasphemous, murderer at heart. When asked about guilt before God, she said she would definitely be guilty, and when asked about heaven or hell, she didn’t outright answer but said it is something that concerned her.

We continued talking about how to “fix the problem” – and went through:
- Confession (won’t help a guilty criminal)
- Trying not to do it again (won’t help a guilty criminal)
- Doing good works (won’t help a guilty criminal – as it is considered either bribery or irrelevant to the case at hand)

We talked then about the good news of the gospel, and I encouraged her to repent, acknowledge her sin to God, cry out for His mercy, turn from the sin she’s involved in, give her life completely to Him, and start reading her Bible.

One very interesting aspect of the conversation was the opportunity to warn her of the seriousness of giving her life to Christ. We talked about hypocrites that go to church and know about Jesus, but haven’t been changed by Him – and how that would be similar to jumping out of a plane knowing that a parachute would save you, but not actually PUTTING IT ON. I encouraged her that, when she repents and “puts on Jesus” – her life will change. As we had been talking about the gospel, she had she shared about her “roommate”, who was her best friend. She lives in the same house (or apartment) as he for financial reasons – yet their relationship is completely platonic. His parents were very upset when he moved out of their house and in with her – and even had him meet with a pastor (who basically sided with the young man and agreed he needed to grow up at some point and move out?!?).

I was very surprised that this issue would come up, and was trying to seek the leading of the Holy Spirit in even sharing with her. Generally, as a young man, when sharing with someone that is a young lady, I have generally shared over the phone the first time - but will not follow-up (e-mail or future phone calls) with them to avoid the appearance of evil in my own life; but, if they are interested in follow-up, will encourage them to talk with my mother or sister.

In this instance, I felt the Lord giving boldness to address the issue that she had brought up. It's interesting how often, in talking with a guilty sinner, they will bring up the issue that is weighing on their heart. In talking with her, she agreed that such a living arrangement gave the appearance of evil. As we talked about giving her life to Christ and then fully obeying Him, I shared that one of the first things that would likely change would be the living arrangement – and the difficulty and challenges that would come as a result. And yet, the Lord would give her grace as she obeyed, and she would never regret obeying the Lord once she gave her life to Him.