I remember a time many years ago when I was zealous for God but had little wisdom. I was hired to play a crucial role in a healthcare team that was providing care on a daily basis to patients. Being zealous for souls, I often fasted and prayed for the salvation of the people I worked with and the people we saw. However, I did something wrong, I let my focus on souls impact my performance in other areas. I didn’t give my best on that job. It eventually led to me leaving that job in difficult circumstances. I’m sure God redeemed some of those times. But I wasn’t a great witness.
Then I had another job after that on a healthcare team. I couldn’t care less about people’s souls and their eternal destination. I prayed for their physical health and worked with my team to take care of that. I won awards on that job and was ranked one of the best among my peers nationally.
Reading Dave Earley in Chapter 2 of Evangelism Is brought something to light for me which I’d not really thought of as much. It wasn’t supposed to be one or the other. To be effective at reaching my workplace, I had to be excellent at the job I was hired to do and then use that as a stepping stone to reach people’s souls. I need to do all my work to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).