Have you ever asked somebody a question and their response caught you off guard to the point where you had no idea how to respond? I’d like to share a personal experience that happened to me recently where this scenario took place in my life. But first, allow me to unpack a few details.
Not too long ago, I made my way to the Wilson Farms on the corner of Main St in downtown Fillmore. Since it’s just down the block from my apartment and a place where many in the community frequent, I walk down there to make connections with people as much as I can. On this particular day, as soon as I walked in the person working the counter…let’s call him Jay. He said “Hey there he is!” since I am a frequent visitor. At the time Jay happened to be in conversation with a man who was sporting semi-long hair down to the shoulder, a fisher’s hat and about 15 teeth in his head.
The conversation began with the state of the U.S. economy; then it shifted to the poor economic state of Fillmore. Since I minister in the community, I prodded a bit and asked this man a question. I told him of how I’m a youth minister in the area, and how my church would like to play a more intentional role in the community. I then asked him of what he perceived as the greatest need in the community. Basically, he said that if we were to affect change in this community, we would have to start by changing the mindset of the people. I then shook his hand, thanked him for his honest input, then introduced myself. He introduced himself...let’s call him Jake. I asked if he had a last name. He refused to give it.
Now getting back to my initial question! I asked, “Are you a part of any churches in the area?” He said, “Nah...I follow Satan. I figure I’m working for him anyway. Plus God never gives me what I want…I asked for a million dollars. He’d never give it to me.” I was so floored by his answer that I simply couldn’t formulate a coherent response. I just said, “It was great meeting you.” After that encounter, I walked up to my apartment a bit frustrated and discouraged saying to God, “God, why didn’t I say anything? I’m so mad at myself.”
Thankfully, the next day was Sunday at FWC. One of my favorite parts of Sunday is the fact that even though I’m one of the pastors at the church, I’m actually able to participate in the adult Sunday school class. Currently the class happens to be studying 1 and 2 Peter. On this particular week we happened to touch 1 Peter 2:15 which says, “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.”
Just to clarify, I don’t take Jake to be a fool. In fact, my conversation with him shows me he is quite intelligent, in many things. However, his beliefs and views of God I would definitely put in the “ignorant” category. Most likely his lack of knowledge coupled with some bad experiences with the church would warrant the response he gave.
But this story isn't about Jake, or even about me…it’s about a deeper spiritual reality that God revealed to me through his word and my personal experience: when it comes to the marginalized, we are not called to always have the right words to say. In fact, I bet the people they've been hurt by have already tried the “tell them what they’re doing wrong” approach. The truth is, sometimes we have the words. Sometimes we don’t. But we are always called to change the mindset of these individuals by continually doing good works in Jesus’ name. Just like that old saying goes: Actions speak louder than words.
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