Reminders: What's Your Bait?
by Ardith Hoff
A young man had been fishing for a long time. His friend came over and saw that he hadn’t caught any fish.
He asked his friend, “Why aren’t you catching any fish?”
“Bad luck? God's will? Who knows?” came the reply.
“What are you using for bait?” asked the friend.
The boy fishing said, “I’m using the best bait ever!”
“What’s that?” asked his friend.
“Honey! Because I heard my mom tell my sister that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I figured that if it works for flies, it ought to work for fish that eat flies.”
When we fail at whatever we are trying to accomplish, it might be because we are using the wrong “bait.” If we are trying to sell a product, we need to make sure that what we are selling is something people want. If we want someone to come to church, and learn about God’s word, we have to make sure the person can see, from our example, that it is something they might want. In that case, we are the “bait”. If people can’t see that believing in Jesus has had a positive effect on our lives, why should they want it? In other words, it doesn’t do any good to tell someone they should come to church and learn of God’s saving grace if we do not show them that we are a recipient of that grace, and that the way we live is an example they might want to emulate. We are the example of what God’s grace can do.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16. “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, and dignity.” Titus 2:7. “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, to be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20
We need to make sure we are the best ambassadors for Christ we can be. God does not expect us to be perfect, but showing people what God has done for us (and can do for them) is what witnessing for Christ is all about.