I was doing yard work on Saturday when a salesman approached. I didn’t really want to talk to him but I thought I would let him do his presentation.
He went through his pitch and after he was done, I told him I wasn’t interested. He followed up with asking why and I explained to him the reason. He chuckled and scoffed at my reason and he began to try discredit my thinking. I interrupted him and said, “I don’t want to waste your time, I’m not interested. Thank you.” He paused for a moment and I could see him wrestling with whether or not he should continue the pitch. He ultimately decided to try to continue and persuade me and I said once again, “I’m not interested, thank you.” He then reluctantly walked away.
As he left, I found myself frustrated. I’ve felt this way many times after interactions with salesman. So, I decided to bore down a little bit and understand why I was frustrated.
- I was frustrated because he laughed at my reason, as if it was not a legit reason to not purchase the product.
- I was frustrated because he was pushy. He had an agenda and regardless of my responses, he was going to make sure he put up a fight.
- Ultimately, I was frustrated because he didn’t care what I said. He didn’t care about me and my opinions. He cared about selling a product and he was going to do whatever it took to try and convince me to buy it.
And then I thought to myself, I wonder if this is how non-Christians feel when confronted by believers?
Think about it, there are many evangelistic trainings out there that look and sound very similar to this salesman’s approach. They are pushy, arrogant, condescending, and can come off as cold and overbearing.
Relational evangelism not only fits my personality and style but I think it’s the best way to convey to someone that you care. I learned on Saturday that when I feel like I’m not cared for, I become frustrated and tune out.
To learn more about relational evangelism, watch the below video.
