Please stay with me a moment and let me tell you why this concerns me:
First, in just a worldly way, do you expect someone whom you've just tricked into thinking you are giving him something of value (when it is not worth what he believes it is) to then accept the thing of value you are offering him (the free gift of life in Jesus Christ). Surely, they are thinking, "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." These tactics make no sense whatsoever.
Secondly, isn't this an illegal trademark violation? The Scripture commands us not to steal, but when we use the trademarks of others without their permission and without benefiting them, aren't we breaking the law and diluting their business asset - their name and logo? Our laws protect trademarks because it is recognized that businesses invest a lot of assets into their name and logo recognition, through advertising, signage, product placement and more. When we trade on that name without their permission, we are illegally benefiting from their investment.
Lastly, I do not think we should be deceiving others to bring them to the truth. In fact, I think offering someone something that seems to be of value to him and then refusing to honor that expected value, even if we offer something else in return is, I believe, defrauding him. It is a type of bait and switch.
Dear friends, I know your heart. I know you so desire that the lost and dying people around you grasp the hope that is in Jesus Christ. I know that you only hoped to catch their eye - to get their attention. I know you only want to share the good news, but my dear brethren, is our Lord not strong enough to save without the use of that which he warns against in His Word:
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,
19 Is the man who deceives his neighbor,
And says, “I was only joking!”
Dear ones, this is not the way of our Master. God has known His people from the foundation of the world and needs no tricks to reach them. We are to proclaim the gospel to the world - by our words, by our lives - but we are never, never encouraged to deceive them. We told our children long ago, that we would never intentionally lie to them, not even so-called "white lies" because we wanted them to know that if we said it, that as far as we knew, it was the truth - they could trust it. This has meant that our family doesn't practice Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, but also that our children really, really trust us. Shouldn't the world be able to do the same? Or else, how will they know when we are speaking the truth?
Can I suggest that you hand out invitations to visit your church or tracts with provocative questions or just plain old truth? Let us, as the North Carolina motto has it: To Be, Rather than to Seem - Esse Quam Videri. A good motto for a Christian.
No comments:
Post a Comment