I just got back from being on holidays - my wife and I and two friends spent some time in Mexico.  While we were there we met and chatted with a really likeable guy named Ellio.  Ellio worked at the place where we stayed selling massages on the beach and every day he would wander around trying to convince people that their vacation was incomplete unless they had a 50 minute massage.

Two times he came by where we were strewn across the beach (I was nose first into Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” covered in SPF 60 so I wouldn’t lose my perfect shade of pale) and tried to convince us to sign up.  I wasn’t very interested in spending the money even though I carry stress in my shoulders for two reasons: a) because I’m cheap and b) because I have a wife, who in spite of her small hands can rescue me from the knots in my back (I think it’s in our marriage vows somewhere…).

Even though he didn’t make a sale on us, both times Ellio came by he sat down with us and chatted for about ten minutes or so.  We had opportunity to talk about our families and where he (and we) were from and what we did for work and so on.

After he left the second time my wife mused what Ellio might be able to do if he were to come to Canada - he was clearly a bright guy who was personable and easy to like.  We chatted about how if he could just get his foot in the door somewhere he could do a myriad of things - specifically in the area of sales.  He had a great grasp of English and like I said, was super personable - a man of high energy, very persuasive.

I haven’t really spent the last week thinking much about Ellio, but in remembering our conversations with him and my initial impression of him I’ve been thinking a bit about how we put so much emphasis on the way a message is delivered.  It’s a huge part of our culture - we want things to be witty or shiny and impressive.  And that’s not necessarily a bad thing - as a preacher I’m always trying to hone my communication skills, working at how to efficiently and effectively present my message.

What I’ve been reminded of recently though (dating back before my holidays and even meeting Ellio) is that as good as it is to work on the way we present our message as Christians we must not become so focused on the how of the message that we lose sight of the greater importance of what the message is.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 2 that he did not come “with eloquence or superior wisdom” and that his “message and preaching were not with wise and persuasive words” but rather based on God’s power.  In the chapter before he reminds his readers that they were not called because of their wisdom or influence, but that God works through the weak things of this world to shame the wise so that no one might boast before Him.  In fact he exhorts “let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

It’s been a good reminder for me that while I ought to work at doing my craft well, my concern should not be about presentation as much as it should be about content - God’s message of truth speaks and has power of its own and that anything that is accomplished through me is a result not of my own intelligence and hard work, but through the grace of Him who has chosen to use me.

Reg