Credit Card Fee’s Removed, and the Gospel Shared

I had a credit card for quite some time – and suddenly was hit was a yearly renewal fee. I called to have the card cancelled and the fee removed, and ended up switching to a different credit card with the same company that doesn’t involve a yearly fee (and I was able to share the entire gospel message with the customer service rep!).

It’s now been a month or two, and I received a statement from the company (along with my new credit card) – that showed I still owed the yearly renewal. On top of that, I was being charged late fee’s and interest. I figured the late fee’s would go away, but with another statement I just received I noticed they were still there (although, finally, the credit removing the yearly renewal was finally credited off).

So, I called into the credit card company. We chatted about the fee’s and renewal problem, and the young man helped me deal with the account. He put me on hold for five or so minutes while he straightened out the account. When he came back on, we talked about the rebates I can get with the credit card. When that was done, and we were ending the call, he asked if there was anything else he could help me with. I said there was, but that it wasn’t related to credit cards and was a bit off-topic.

He said he had some time, so I could go ahead. I said if he had another call come in and needed to go – no problem – just let me know. I asked if he had ever taken the “good person test”, and he said he hadn’t. I said it only took a few minutes and had a moral at the end (that way he would know the questions were “leading somewhere” and wouldn’t feel as if I was baiting him).

I asked if he felt he was a good person, and he said yes, but that he also did bad things at times. I asked if he was familiar with the ten commandments, and he was. I said the ten commandments give us a true idea of whether we are good or not.

First commandment we discussed was lying, and he readily admitted lying, but said most lies were to protect people and avoid a problem – not to deceive. The example he gave was if he got home really late, and his mother asked where he had been (and he had been with his buddies at a club or with a girlfriend), he would lie and say something different. I said that was a perfect example of lying to deceive someone, and on top of that, I said that was also breaking the fifth commandment, which tells us to honor our father and mother.

Next we discussed stealing, and he admitted (on a phone line that was being recorded – every now and then you could hear the little beep) he had stolen in the past.

Next I asked about using God’s name in vain. He said he’s done that, although not usually on purpose. We talked about how, even doing it accidentally, is still a serious thing because it shows how little we care for God’s name to let it slip out as a curse word. I shared that doing so was blasphemy.

Next we talked about adultery. I asked if he had ever committed adultery. He paused for a moment, and then asked a question to clarify the meaning of my question, and then said, yes, he had done it. I still went on to share how looking with lust is the same as committing adultery.

I summarized his condition before God (a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer – I didn’t have to say “in heart” because of his acknowledgment), and asked if, when he dies and God judges him based on the ten commandments, if he would be innocent or guilty. He said he would be guilty. I asked if he would then go to heaven or hell, and he said heaven – because God will judge everyone the same. I agreed and said that God would absolutely judge everyone the same – all are guilty of breaking the ten commandments.

He then said he didn’t feel those things were so bad. I asked if he had a Bible at his house and encouraged him to read Revelation 21:7-8. I said that God is so holy that not only will murders and rapists go to hell, but also adulterers (which I realized he was guilty of), thieves, and – the scary part of that verse - even liars will spend eternity in the lake of fire. I also encouraged him to read James 2, where we are told that, even if we could keep all the commandments our whole life, and then break one of them, we are guilty of breaking them all. I encouraged him to then read the gospel of John to see what Jesus had done for him.

Since he was still open and had time, we talked more about what Jesus had done – and how Jesus will give victory over sin. I talked about the cost of surrendering to Jesus and repenting of one’s sin. I gave a few specific examples of things he would need to do when he came to Jesus, and things he would need to stop doing.

We talked about how God has so richly blessed him with life, health, eyesight, friends, and a job – and how, despite all of that, he was purposely breaking God’s commandments, and was using God’s name as a curse word. We talked about the futility of life, and how God will not always “strive with man” (Genesis 6:3 – meaning God will eventually stop bringing conviction to a person). I asked if there were other, true (not hypocritical Christians) in his life that had been sharing with him about heaven and hell and what Jesus had done for him – and he said there were. I shared how patient God was being with him – and yet he was resisting God’s grace.

I then shared how the decision was his and his alone. I encouraged him to get right with God before it was too late. I gave him our web site address so that he could e-mail us with any questions at any time – and encouraged him to also talk more with his friends.

Several times during the call I mentioned that I didn’t want to take too much of his time, but each time, he said it was fine and to go on.

What a blessing to be able to share the gospel while having to call a credit card company about my account!