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| Image via CrunchBase |
I was reading the Critic Stumbles by Seth Godin. He recently attended a Broadway play that got a standing ovation. In fact, it got the longest standing ovation Seth had ever seen. He says the play deserved every minute of it. Everyone seemed to love it, everyone except for one critic. The critic gave it a bad review.
So what sells? How do we engage people? Is it the press? The marketing? No, it's our conversations and our leveraging love. It's nothing fancy or high tech. It's the touch of love.
As followers of Jesus, we can be like that critic shouting at the world, and yes, there are platforms for that. But are we spewing out of our angst, yelling at the crowd, as opposed to reaching out to the crowd in love? There's a huge difference between talking at people and talking to them.
Jesus had a myriad of issues he could have addressed. The burning issue of the day was the Roman occupation. But Jesus addressed the heart. He cut through the flack. He reached out in love.
"Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Follower of Jesus, follow Jesus's example. Have a conversation of the heart, especially on line. So when you address the issues of our day (Abortion, Human Trafficking, Global Warming, Homosexuality, Poverty), stop yelling at people, and check your heart. Jesus always, always, always went for the heart. And here's the kicker. If you're leveraging anything but love, you've missed it. Jesus says, "Come to me," and that's our message.
Love one another. Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you... and yes, be the light of the world, be the salt of the earth in a way that the world can see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Leverage love.
