It's said that Super Bowl Sunday is
second only to Thanksgiving in food consumption on a single day of
the year. Forget the turkey this go around; the most popular menu
items are pizza, wings, and chips and dip. It's the dip that caught
my attention this year when I was asked to help promote my store's
sales of a popular brand of guacamole and salsa.
For two days I found myself standing
beside the display, catching the eye of shoppers nearby, and offering
them a taste of guacamole on a tortilla chip or two. I found it to be
delightful duty – paid to purposely chat with the many customers
I've become friends with over the years, make a few new ones, and
offer everybody who happened by a chance to fall in love with my
favorite dip.
People are passionate about guacamole –
they either love it or hate it, there's no middle ground. Having
grown up in California, which produces 90 percent of the fresh
avocados consumed in the United States, I've been eating the fruit
almost since birth. Guacamole is simply avocado in another form, and
makes everything I put it on taste even better. I've been a huge fan
for years.
Other people, not so much. I giggled
repeatedly at the ones who took one look and shuddered as they
hurried by; those who simply couldn't imagine putting something that
green and squishy in their mouths, let alone swallowing it down and
enjoying the experience! Others told me they had always wanted
to try it and never had an opportunity. I quickly handed them a
sample in a cup and then watched their faces eagerly, trying to gauge
their reaction. Some just shook their heads, dropped the cup in the
wastebasket and moved on. But the eyes of many others widened in
surprise at how good it was, their hands quickly reaching for the
guacamole in the display case...and the chips and salsa offered
beside it, as well!
The promotion was a success for a
couple of reasons. The place was packed with people shopping for food
to eat at their football parties, many of whom weren't necessarily
looking for guacamole. But the display was placed right in their path
as they entered the produce department at the front of the store.
They had no choice but to pass by. I merely took advantage of the
opportunity to speak to them and offer them a taste of something
good.
God simply asks us to do the same. Of
the many people we meet in our comings and goings each day, very few
of them may be thinking about a relationship with their Creator as
they're headed our way. But God has us strategically placed so that
our lives intersect with a purpose; so-called “chance” meetings
simply do not exist. And all He asks is that we give them the
opportunity to sample something they may never have tried before. So
much more than mere party food that is enjoyed for a time and then
forgotten, a relationship with God has the potential to change their
lives for the better forever.
Many of the people who tried the
guacamole for the first time did so on the basis of their
relationship with me. I've talked and laughed with them for years as
they've come through my checkout line; if now I was promoting
guacamole, they'd stop and at least listen to what I had to say. We
gain people's ears for God the same way, often based on a
relationship that's been built over time.
Some noted my passion for the product I
was offering; because I love and eat it myself, it was easy for me to
talk favorably about it from my own experience. Likewise my own
relationship with God is its best selling point – if I am excited
about His presence in my life and the positive changes that have come
as a result, I am able to talk about it in a way that leads others to
want some of the same.
I met a lot of people who looked at the
product I stood beside with disdain, telling me that they made their
own guacamole and believed it to be the best. Others had sampled some
once and didn't like it. Yet they were willing to give my product a
taste, just to see how it compared. Likewise many people are
satisfied with their own vision of God, or use a past church
experience of their own to judge what a relationship with Him is all
about. Many want nothing to do with anything more. And yet if God can
just catch their eye somehow through something I say or do, they
might be willing to open the door to their hearts and explore a
little more.
Many people thought I was offering a
mix rather than a ready-to-serve product, and likewise an amazing
number of people believe that getting to God is a long and arduous
process that takes more time and effort than they're willing to
devote to it. They are pleasantly surprised to find that beginning a
relationship with Him is as easy as peeling the top off a package and
simply digging in to the good stuff inside.
Midway through the two-day event a
supervisor happened to mention to me that there was a contest between
the stores in our district involving sales of this particular
product, encouraging me to do all I could to add to our store's
total. It was worth the extra effort I subsequently put forth to
later hear my store manager thank me for doing a great job. How much
greater is the incentive to work hard for the Kingdom in the days we
have left than to hear our Master say at the end of our days,
“Well done!”
“Taste and see
that the Lord is good...”
(Psalm 34:8 NIV)
Love that holy guacamole! Great analogy. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love avocados. Your post is interesting on so many levels. You make so many valid points about fear, relationships, trying new things, following example and so much more. God is cool when he works like that for us. Very nice post!
ReplyDeleteMJ, A to Z Challenge Co-Host
Writing Tips
Effectively Human
Lots of Crochet Stitches