Who's Calling, Please?

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. (1 Thessalonians 2:1-5 ESV). Don’t you just love “robo calls”? You know, these are the calls that come occasionally from some robotic call machine somewhere to see if you will answer. Every now and then I get a phone call from these unfamiliar numbers. Honestly, I don’t know anyone from the city that shows on the caller ID, but usually I answer the call. After all, it could be someone I know who needs something and is calling from an unfamiliar number. Usually it’s someone asking for money for a cause, soliciting my vote on some issue or candidate, or someone trying to sell me something I not only don’t want, but don’t need either. I really love the ones where they offer a free vacation. Really? I’m old enough and cynical enough to know that there are strings attached and that I’m not really being offered a free gift. In Paul’s day the residents of major cities like Thessalonica were accustomed to having various figures come through town trying to win converts to whatever philosophy or religion they claimed to represent. Then as now, people were wary enough to know that there were strings attached, that the philosopher or guru was looking to gain money or status by gaining adherents. Paul and his fellow preachers were different, though. The apostle reflects in our reading today. He describes in some detail what it was like to share a message that was purely a gift from God. Paul wasn’t looking to be flattered or to get rich, and he wasn’t even expecting to earn his living from the people he won over. He was free to live and serve alongside the people as a brother instead of a huckster. His way of being a messenger matched the message itself; people could trust and receive it with no strings attached. I find it a bit off-putting that there are still some of those “preachers” in our day who merely speak what people want to hear in order to garnish their support and financial gain. Whenever I get one of those unsolicited sales calls, I always ask, “Who’s Calling, please?” Usually that’s enough to hear a click on the other end of the line as they hang up and go to the next call. I know that’s just their job. I get that. However, our job as bearers of Good News is to share the gospel in ways that demonstrate that it is the hearer who stands to gain, not us. People will listen to that message.