Freed From Control
FROM MY THIRD GRADE year through junior high, our family moved frequently. Being the new kid can be tough enough, but I was somewhat small for my age and had begun to wear glasses, and that made me an easy target for playground bullies and their hangers-on. I tried to deal with conflict by learning how to fight, but soon discovered I was much better at talking my way out of a mess than fighting my way out. In fact, one bully became one of my closest friends. Of course, by then I had "hit my growth"; perhaps that helped, too. That early training in persuasive speaking served me well in life. As a hunting guide, I convinced men more than twice my age that I was indeed skilled and dependable enough for them to entrust with their lives for a week in the wilderness. During a four-year stint in the U.S. Air Force, I supervised skilled people, many of them older than me, when most others my age were still attending frat parties. Based on my prior experience and giftedness, when I finally got around to attending college, I chose a major in communications. Particularly satisfying were my classes in persuasion, learning how to move people toward a decision. I became a sales representative in the financial services business; I seemed to have a knack for closing the deal. I learned how to make the most of my persuasive gifts. So when I made the decision to enter pastoral ministry, I believed my abilities to make things happen and to influence people would be a great asset—for the kingdom, of course. And surely that would be most evident in the pulpit. This was all long before I began to pay attention to the character of an Old Testament persuader who had also learned to make his living by his wits. Jacob, son of Isaac, would have been the ...
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