P.O. Box 53055    
Los Angeles, CA 90053   

WITNESSING THE PRICE TAG

It seemed like such a bright idea at the time. Everyone in the world was going online, surfing, clicking in orders, getting books and CDs and DVDs and rare collectibles and pet supplies over the Internet. And what do people ever buy more of than food? You may not really need the latest Vin Diesel movie right now, this very minute, but everybody’s got to eat, right? That was the reasoning behind Webvan, a hot-selling Internet startup that soon had stock selling at $34 a share to eager Wall Street traders. There was a billion-dollar merger with HomeGrocer that looked like it would send the groceries-via-internet business into the stratosphere.

There was just one problem. When it came right down to taking an order, hiking through a warehouse to fill it, putting it onto a truck, and taking that order to a person’s house, there simply wasn’t a way to turn a profit. Even slicing a penny here, a couple of cents there, trimming a nickel someplace else, Webvan.com was shelling out $143 for every $100 of food they were selling. The start-up company was flat-out losing $2 million a day. Once news of that got out into the investment breezes, corporate shares dropped like a stone, going from that peak of $34 to a low of six cents. A few short months later, Webvan was history, and people began to trudge through the supermarket aisles themselves again, pushing those old-fashioned carts with the one jittery wheel.

Well, stories like that are why some of us keep our spare change in our sock drawer instead of in IPOs. But in all spheres of life, friend, whether you’re thinking of an Internet startup, or deciding whether or not you want to get personally involved in this adventure we call witnessing, one thing is always good: count the cost first. Write down what expenses you might incur. Try to predict what the outgo will be versus the possible rewards. It’s true on Wall Street, and it’s equally true on heaven’s golden streets.

In Luke 14, Jesus has a little illustration that Silicon Valley apparently forgot to read. Here it is:

“When you plan to build a house, don’t you first sit down and figure out what it will cost to see if you have enough money to finish it? If you don’t, you may find that you only have enough money to build the lower half of the house, and you’ll be the talk of the neighborhood. People will say, ‘Look at that! He started to build a house and can’t finish it!’”

Is this business of witnessing and faith-sharing worth doing at all? Let’s start with that question. In their book, Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels and Mark Mittelberg remind us of Jesus’ assertion that rescuing lost sinners “warrants an all-out search.” The lady who loses a coin goes from the attic to the basement, looks in the dark corners, looks under the bed. She pulls up the floorboards. The shepherd who loses one sheep goes out at midnight, while the wind is howling and also the wolves. And of course, if you believe the Christian story, Jesus left heaven itself, and all its attendant glories, in order to come rescue the perishing.

First of all, what are the benefits? With this kind of “start-up” – are we likely to get rich? Probably not, but this writing team of Hybels and Mittelberg shares a number of benefits to being God’s ambassadors. First of all, it can be exciting! Any returning missionary can tell you that. We’ve shared some mission stories from our own denomination and others – and they take your breath away. But forget the faraway jungles for now. It can be exciting sharing your faith right here in your hometown. When your neighbors down the street bring a little bundle home from the hospital, and you pop in with a supersize pack of disposables and say to the proud mama and papa, “Let me say a little prayer of blessing for your new baby,” you’re almost guaranteed to experience a positive response.

Being dedicated to faith-sharing can also give your own life purpose. Jessica, one of our employees here at the Voice of Prophecy, has been a four-in-the-morning health club enthusiast for years. She’s been on the Stairmaster, done Thighs of Steel, and swum 35 laps before some of us even hear the alarm go off. But the last couple of years, she hasn’t just been going to stay in shape. Instead, she uses that hour as her “Here I am, send me, Lord” appointment. She goes to that gym with her spiritual eyes open. Just who might God be wanting her to share with that day? Sometimes it’s no one, and she does her leg lifts and goes home. But when she puts on her exercise leotard with intentionality, when she walks through the door of the 24-Hour Fitness Center LOOKING for opportunities, looking for lost and lonely people, looking for ways to gently invoke the name of Jesus, it brings order to her entire existence.

Number three, fulfillment. Here’s another Hybels line:

“What else,” he asks, “could compare with being an instrument in God’s hand, used to communicate His love and clarify His truth to people He cared enough to die for? There’s nothing more satisfying than effectively furthering God’s redemptive purpose for humanity!”

There’s a great little story in John chapter 4, where Jesus describes the principles of heaven to a lonely, maritally challenged woman sitting by a well in Sychar. She opens herself up to Him, and He’s able to share His Father’s love. Later, after it’s all over, and He’s talking with His disciples, they say to Him: “Master, all that preaching must make you hungry. Here, have a sandwich. Let us share some of our fries with You.” And Jesus looks at them and says, “Are you kidding? I’ve got food you men don’t know anything about. To talk about My Dad’s love for all of you . . . man, that’s My meal ticket. That’s what fills Me up.” Isn’t that beautiful?

We’ve already mentioned spiritual growth – that being a witness forces you to make sure you have something to share. You have to have been fed yourself before you can feed others. Your Bible-reading experience will improve; your prayers will have more vibrant passion to them, as you beg God for the salvation of your new friends. Your worship and praise will be more real, more tangible; you’ll have things to thank the Lord for. You’ll be more steady in church attendance, because you want the power it provides. You’ll become a positive force for change there – because you want church to be a dynamic, gentle, warm, caring environment when people you bring come through the door for the first time.

In that same book, Hybels observes – and he’s seen it happen – that your own life of holiness is invigorated.

“A benefit of becoming a contagious Christian is that it helps you maintain a high standard of conduct. You gain a heightened awareness that you’re God’s representative and that what you do really matters because it positively or negatively impacts the lives of others.”

We mentioned that yesterday, how everything we say and do nudges our acquaintances either toward heaven or away from it.

But now, in our last few moments – let’s carefully “count the cost.” Will we pay a price in order to be live witnesses? Yes. It takes time and energy. Sharing Jesus can steal a free afternoon from you; it can rob you of nap time, leisure moments, recreation. When you detour out of your regular path so you can take someone to church, it burns up gas; they leave sandwich crumbs in your car. Remembering birthdays costs money; throwing parties for potential new church members can too.

Will you lose time reading and studying and, in essence, “cramming” for your moments of Christian connection? Yes. It takes time to read a good book that fills your own gospel portfolio with new insights you can share. It’s a lot easier to just hit the racquetball court or spend all your free evenings renting DVDs from Netflix.

And let’s be frank in admitting that you might experience embarrassment. For sure, some rejection. You might spend a year or two carefully nurturing a new friendship, and when decision time comes, they might not just say, “No way,” they say “ABSOLUTELY no way. No chance. Not interested. What were you thinking?” No wonder Jesus warned His disciples:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.”

Maybe in free-and-easy America, persecution sounds like a distant memory, but let me remind you of Dayna and Heather, who so recently were imprisoned there in Afghanistan. They didn’t have to go over there, and being held by the Taliban was part of the “cost” of being Jesus’ disciples in this 21st century.

Finally, it can complicate your life. Once you’ve prayed for your neighbor’s new baby, now you’re connected. You’ve got to go there again for the kid’s first birthday party. When your neighbor invites you over for a Fourth of July party, you’re kind of stuck; you almost have to go. When you witness this way, you put yourself into a network. When someone’s mom passes away, you stand with them in the ICU. When their daughter gets married, you stand there at the reception. And . . . when they’re baptized into God’s family, you stand there by the pool and wipe away tears of joy. What goes around . . . comes around.

Count the cost. Reap the joy.