May 21, 2013

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5 Reasons why convincing is not of your making

January 21, 2013 by 22 Comments

5 reason why Convincing is not good

This was me trying to convince a friend of mine that there is undeniable evidence that Jesus was real. This was me a few years ago trying to convince individuals to join me in my business, and I see this still going on to this very day in Religion and in Business. The question I ask is WHY if even Jesus did not convince people to listen to the truth. This may spark up a great debate or I may not get any comments on this blog post. Either way, it must be read.

God did not place us here to live a safe life, he put us here to live a dangerous life for him, led by him. When you are doing your God-given talent and reaching many people for Christ why should you conform and not get radical for him? Well in Business and Religion it must stop, and we must start to get radical.

Matthew 10:14 states this; Any if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.

Do you think that was harsh to say? Imagine, if you are trying to continuously convince someone of something and you keep doing it over and over, you are fighting a loosing battle. Now that you see that convincing is not of your making here are 5 reasons why you should avoid them;

  1. You will stress
  2. You will waste time
  3. You will play it over in your head
  4. You may lose sleep
  5. You will harbor ill feelings

Convincing will make you appear desperate to the other person and give them the upper hand in the conversation, so it better to just walk away and once you have stated all the facts, and provided credible resources you have done your job.

Their two things that I am very passionate about and that is bringing people from Darkness to light spiritually and also via business.

Becoming a fisher of men/women for God is similar to my Network marketing business but on a way more permanent level. When fishing for God, its eternal life we are speaking about and nothing is more important that.

When fishing to show people how they can earn a living by sharing something they are passionate about, and get paid to do so based off of leverage is also important because many people don’t know or understand how to make a living in this Profession. So we must continue to break down Barriers for God’s Kingdom and also continue to Educate the masses on multiple streams of income.

Question: Have you tried to convince someone of something before? How did it turn out?

Filed Under: Emergent Leader, Entrepreneurship, New Blog Post Tagged With: , ,
About Lincoln R Parks

I am a Traditional and Non-Traditional Business owner. I made the transition from Corporate cubicle to Home office. I went to work harder on myself than I did on my Job, and went from Darkness to light. I spend my days Consulting, Teaching, informing, & Learning. God has given me a spirit of Humility and a mind for Business, so I use that ability to reach others.
Lincoln R. Parks

  • http://www.lifeofasteward.com Loren Pinilis

    I don’t think that you ever give up on the person, but you just change your strategy. Instead of talking to them, perhaps you read up on evangelism and pray. Perhaps you just have a relationship with them and build towards the time when it’s right to talk to them again.

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      Good point. As a friend or a believer we always try to bring people to God. We should always allow them to see how we lead our lives because believe it or not they are watching to see how we respond to different scenarios. Timing is a big key Loren, especially when they want change. Great points.

  • http://www.trailreflections.com/ Chris Peek

    I think people get turned off when we press too hard. Unless someone is understood, they will never be convinced. If we took more time to understand and build relationships, we would be more effective at communicating life-changing messages.

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      Chris that is a great quote. Unless someone is understood, they will never be convinced. Thank you for sharing that wisdom. I will use that quote now.

  • http://intentionaltoday.com/ Ngina Otiende

    I like the picture and how it ties in to the message :) On living radically, Joseph Iregbu had a brilliant post the other day, titled ‘convenience makes no sense’ http://josephiregbu.com/nosense/

    I agree with you in the sense that you cannot make people change. Change is a personal decision. I’ve seen people ‘change’ just cos they wanted me to get out of their face. As Loren says, it calls for change of strategy, prayer. I think so long as we are praying, God will answer (salvation). We cannot ‘convince’ people to salvation. I love Jesus’ words in John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…”

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      I am going to check out Joseph’s blog post Ngina. We do have to have a strategy to eventually keep sharing, and also be careful not to pull them without their own will.

  • http://theregoi.com/ floyd

    Great post, Lincoln. We try to play the role of God way too often. The guidelines you just laid out speak volumes of wisdom. The rest is in God’s hands. I’ve come to realize at this point in my life, I’m a seed planter. I’ve seen many seeds blossom into knowing our Father, but I’m the up front guy. The guy who will say the hard truth and not care if the world condemns me for it. It’s nice to know a role…

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      Floyd, a seed planter. I would really like you to expand upon that. I truly want to know more about that because it sounds like a blog post. Thank you for planting that seed in me, you have me thinking now.

      • http://theregoi.com/ floyd

        A blogpost? Hmmm. You might have something there, Lincoln. I’d say for sure you’re a seed planter, maybe even a finisher? What I meant was that I’m the person who is willing to share the truth of Christ, even to people that others might not be able to or are to timid to, but it seems God has me as the up front guy. I’m not the closer. I’ve seen this over and over in my life. If that’s my role I’m honored to have it and do it. His ways are higher than our ways!

        • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

          Interesting thought Floyd. Every single time I read your posts I get ideas flowing from your thoughts. Thank you for being so inspirational. God is working in and through you.

  • http://www.leadtoimpact.com/ Bernard Haynes

    I stop wasting time trying to convince grown people. We cannot make people change. Our job is to tell them when the door is open,but most of all live a life that is representative of Christ. We turn people off when we try to convince them, but our life doesn’t match what we are saying. Let our life style convince people that there is a better way.

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      Yes Bernard, when the door is open and we did out part to share, its all we can do. I know it hurts knowing our passion, but we just have to live our lives in the light. Thanks for sharing in the conversation.

  • http://sparkvoice.wordpress.com/ DS

    What I learned is I can make incredibly compelling arguments, but it is up to an individual to decide to change or act. I absolutely keep trying to convince others I come into contact with – but now I do not fret about whether they choose to act.

    It’s very similar to trying to convince an addict to change their life. You can give statistics, show destroyed lives, but they have to choose.

    The same for me – I can “want” to lose weight (or any other activity), know all the data, have lots of people encourage me, but until I have a change in my heart, that I am willing to do what it takes – I will not change.

    We of course still need messengers and informers who don’t mind being told “no”. Lot’s of applications to your post. Thanks for the exercise.

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      So true. All we can do is plan the seed DS. As we keep planting seeds and water them occasionally that seed will eventually grow. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this topic because your a really respected view.

  • http://www.mondayisgood.com/ Tom Dixon

    Totally agree – we can’t convince of something they aren’t ready to hear. If they are ready, we need to be ready to do the convincing. I’ve yet to sway a liberal friend to my conservative ideals. I agree with Loren below, we can change our methods.

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      Tom, could not agree more. We will never be able to bring them over to the light. However, lets just live.

  • http://tcavey.blogspot.com/ TCAvey

    Recently God spoke to me about a few friends of mine I have been praying for for YEARS! We remain good friends despite our beliefs.
    I asked God if I wasn’t representing Him well, if I was compromising.
    He showed me that His Spirit living in me puts off an aroma. It attracts some and repeals others. My non-Christian friends may not share my love for Christ, but they are attracted to the smell I put off.

    I will say I stopped years ago trying to “Convince” them and instead live my life by example. They know where I stand and even occasionally ask me to pray for them. They see Christ in me and it’s my prayer that by my actions they will one day smell like me :)

    I agree with you though, we can’t “beat” Christ into people. Even the best arguments won’t win sinners…but love will. Jesus had the same problem, just like the scripture you used.

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      Wow TC, living life by example is what I love to do. I think and know that everyone has him in their hearts and he is speaking to them through example of others. No matter how bleak it may seem. Thanks for sharing your example.

  • http://kimanziconstable.com/ kimanzi constable

    It usually does’t work out very well, been there and done that :)

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      I know you have faced all of these situations Kimanzi. What did you try to convince someone on in the past?

  • http://danblackonleadership.com/ Dan Black

    I’ve tried it and failed each time. When it comes to sharing our faith It’s our responsibility to share the truth with love and God’s to do the convincing/heart changing. Great thoughts.

    • http://www.lincolnparks.com/ Lincoln Parks

      So true and right Dan. We share and God convinces or does the heart changing. Thank you for the thoughts and sharing that with us.

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