April 17: Lead Others to the Lord

Steve Smartt is pastor of Moultrie Baptist Church in St. Augustine.

A humorous story was printed in Leadership Journal and Christian Reader that illustrates our industrious efforts at evangelism: A woman bought a parrot to keep her company. She took him home, but returned the bird to the store the next day.

“This bird doesn’t talk,” she told the owner.

“Does he have a mirror in his cage?” asked the owner. “Parrots love mirrors. They see themselves in the mirror and start up a conversation.” The woman bought a mirror and left.

The next day, she returned. The bird still wasn’t talking. “How about a ladder? Parrots love walking up and down a ladder. A happy parrot is more likely to talk.” The woman bought a ladder and left.

Sure enough, she was back the next day; the bird still wasn’t talking. “Does your parrot have a swing? If not, that’s the problem. He’ll relax and talk up a storm.” The woman reluctantly bought a swing and left.

When she walked into the store the next day, her countenance had changed. “The parrot died,” she said.

The pet owner was shocked. “I’m so sorry. Tell me, did he ever say a word?” he asked. “Yes, right before he died,” the woman replied, “he said, ‘Don’t they sell any food at that pet store?”

Like the zealous pet store owner, our attempts at trying to “sell” the Gospel cause us to miss the basic elements of its truth. Consequently, we take for granted its inherent power and look to other means to make it more convincing, or at least more interesting.

This was the problem in the 28th chapter of Jeremiah. The false prophet, Hananiah, had exchanged the clear prophetic words of Israel’s exile with his own desires for deliverance (28:1b-4). Whether he was sincere or deliberate in his pretension, he was clearly a false prophet whose predictions contradicted those of the true prophet. His words were a deception of the people and an aversion to God’s sovereignty.

Perhaps he had lost his patience in waiting and found the opportunity to gain the approval of the masses with a convenient twist of the truth. Nonetheless, Hananiah had completely opposed the prophets before him in his attempts to give the people the news that they wished to hear (28:7-11). Much like the “prosperity prophets” of today, his message would have been very popular because it offered the promise of peace and wealth in the near future. The bending of God’s Word to the popular desires of the people, however, is a careless misrepresentation of truth for which there is liability. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” To simply say what others want to hear for the sake of swaying their approval is not a justifiable means to the end.

The consequences of misleading others through such manipulative diversions and blatant rejection of truth are grave (28:15-17). Again, Jesus offered a warning concerning the careless use of our words. He said, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin” (Luke 17:2). The death sentence against Hananiah followed the directive of Deuteronomy 18:20 and his death was a direct result of his false teaching (16). Anyone who leads another person away from the truth of God’s Word bears a heavy penalty for their sin.

When leading others to God, we must be cautious to represent His truth accurately so as not to lead them astray.