today i received a very interesting piece of mail. bright and colorful. heavy card-stock. bold helvetica font. honestly speaking, it's a decent graphic design job.
it's an advertisement selling tracts.
i've never been much of a "tract guy". mostly because of the way i've seen them used.
i've witnessed people knock on a door- hand over the tract and then leave.
seriously.
they just left.
i've also witnessed more than one "christian" lay a tract on the table in lieu of a tip following a heavy sunday afternoon lunch.
all in all, i've grown up to hate tracts.
now i understand that people have trouble sometimes articulating the gospel and may seek help from something like a tract.
i'm well aware that God's word does not go out and return void.
i'm also well aware that God is completely sovereign and at times chooses to use things like tracts to lead people to Himself.
it's these things that have softened my view (read: "hatred") on using tracts.
until today.
squeamishness turned into absolute nausea.
the ad i held in my hand had a picture of a gas pump ($4.25) and a variety pack of tracks ($3.96)
underneath the two pictures was the world "STEWARDSHIP" and it's definition.
i stopped.
i stared.
i felt anger well up inside of me.
according to this ad; i'll be a bad steward of the money that God has provided me if i spend it on a gallon of gas rather than this companies product?
i breathed deeply.
i read it again.
it still said what it had said earlier.
do people really respond to this kind of advertising? how well is "Good News Publishers" doing anyways? are there enough people and churches out there buying this stuff to keep a tract publisher in business?
i've got to go fill up my car this afternoon. i need the gas to get to various ministry activities and bible studies. i think i'll go to a full service station today so i can actually TALK to someone about Jesus.
that seems like a good use of God's money.
