Selling God

“You’re baby is soooo cute. Manang-mana sa daddy at mommy nila,” audaciously remarked by a sales person in breaking the silence as my wife and I are left pondering at his offered condominium unit. We have long been reading about the revitalized and booming property market in the Philippines but were still dilly-dallying whether to jump in or not due to some cash flow concerns.

But the salesman’s side-comment sales pitch caught my attention, not just for its half-truthfulness (our son Zek looks closely like my cute wife and not me) but for being reminded of the often-heard of marketing schemes that includes upfront flattery to favorably sway a prospective client into accepting (or buying) his offer.

So what makes a good sales person?
Is it the pushy style?
Is it through employing deceptive techniques?
Is it being manipulative to the extent of being annoying?

I believe the main and primary requirement to be one is that you believe in what you are selling.
Whether it’s just a shampoo or a state-of-the-art gadgetries and gizmos, you must be convinced yourself of its benefits and effectiveness. You must be certain that it falls under the category of WANT and NEED. You must have tried it before and is personally convinced and convicted of its rewards.

As Christians, we are also called to be sales person of God to sell “God-products” and “God-ideas” to the people around us. But just like any good sales person, we must have the personal experience first before we can testify to the relevance of His many blessings. In opposite, however, "selling" God must be free since we received it first freely. The profit we know as heaven was already paid in full by Jesus in Calvary.

So let us join others, by word and most importantly by our works, who have been doing their God-pitch,
Anxious? Doubtful? There is absolutely no reason to be, because the Holy Spirit will be the one doing the convincing and conversion of our clients.
We don’t really need to make the sale or to convert someone.
We are only called to offer or to endorse.

Jon Fischer, a pastor friend and associate of Rick Warren (author of Purpose-Driven Life book) wrote in his reflection: “It’s all in knowing the difference between our business and God’s business. God reveals. God opens eyes. God blinds eyes. God turns on the light. Remember how he did it for you. You can give another person credit for accepting you, giving you worth, and introducing you to Jesus, but you can’t give another person credit for changing your mind. You made the decision and God turned on the light. We need to give others, and God, plenty of room to work.”

Everybody knows that Jesus’ very first salesperson was a sinner by the name of Peter, a less educated, ordinary fisherman folk who after proclaiming his undying loyalty to Him has denied even knowing Him thrice. And we all know how many hearts he won for the Lord. The Lord does not call those qualified. He qualifies those who answered His call.

So let us all buckle up for work and reach out to as many prospective clients – family members, new friends, old acquaintances, any people who crossed our paths. You just might be amazed that many are actually in search for Him and have been waiting for someone to offer Him into their lives.

The consumers are many but the sales person are few.
Come and be one of God’s sales person.

Or to re-phrase it more Christianly – Come and be one of God’s share person.

PS. You are right! My reflection should be aptly titled - Sharing God. It was a marketing strategy.