Thoughts on today

Just had a session of weekly dose of crossroads.. the speaker was speaking about sharing Christ. It is indeed apparent that I have a tendency to want to engage in spiritual debates. I'm trying to curb it for the sake of the gospel. God's Word itself brought about that conviction in my heart:

¹⁵It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.^c]">[c] ¹⁸But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice
Philippians 1: 15-18

If I can choose to do it out of Goodwill, why do it for selfish reasons like wanting to win a debate?
If I have the chance, I will want the person to know Christ, through my care and concern for the person, through the way God touched my life. Although the gospel gets shared no matter selfish reasons or not, because its God's Word that turns people to Him, I will choose to do it the way He intended for us to love thy neighbour as ourselves, to be sensitive to people's needs, to care, to be that patient listener.

In the verse above, Paul's context of rejoicing was in the spreading of the gospel. That is not wrong, but Paul is not about to encourage us to preach it the selfish way. I would like to think that the attitude behind true gospel sharing is seeing a person's need for the gospel. It is not a means by which we satisfy our self ego, nor is it something we can boast about. The end result might be the same, but the process is not.

You may ask, why are you as a christian actively/not sharing the gospel? If actively, why? Is it because it is a commandment? Or do you truly see the needs of the people through Christ? If not, are we lukewarm Christians who are just concerned with what we can get out of Christianity?

Again, we may see it as a chore, or discharging a responsibility. But the attitude speaks volume. Are we again doing it as a response of Christ's Love for us?

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"Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. —Proverbs 31:30"

A verse to chew on for the rest of the day. Indeed so true.