Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Two hucksters in one morning? What are the odds?

In my Bible-reading this morning, I read 2 Corinthians 2. The last verse says,

"17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us."

Then, about 15 minutes later, I read a post from Seth Godin's blog. Part of it said this:

"Why would someone listen to the prankster or the shyster or the huckster? No, we choose to listen to those we trust. We do business with and donate to those who have earned our attention. We seek out people who tell us stories that resonate, we listen to those stories, and we engage with those people or businesses that delight or reassure or surprise in a positive way."

Both passages caught my attention because of the word "huckster". Who uses that word? But, what a great word it is. It denotes a lack of sincerity and a lack of trust. It reminds me of the snake-oil salesmen of an era past.

I'm reminded, deep in my spirit, how deeply people crave sincerity and how much people want to trust us! I want to be a person and a leader who is sincere and who is worthy of that trust. 

Think about that today, especially if you're leading in the Church. You're not pedaling a product. You're representing Jesus - the most trust-worthy man there is.

No room for hucksters.

No comments: