Blog: Max Dawson
April 7, 2016
Last Wednesday I received a phone call. It was from someone I did not know; the caller ID display indicated it was from “Shirley Emery.” But when I answered, it was a man’s voice. I asked, “Are you Shirley?” The reply was, “No. I am Alex.” I immediately identified the call as a telemarketing call. “Alex’s” voice was foreign, and I could hear lots of other people talking in the background.
I told Alex that I wanted to speak to Shirley. He gave my request no response, but began his canned spiel about how I could save money if I would buy medications from him. I again said, “I want to talk to Shirley,” believing on my part that Shirley was a fictitious name. Alex hung up on me.
Then on Monday of this week, someone identifying themselves as from Publisher’s Clearinghouse called. The man informed me that I was a “first-place winner in the Publisher’s Clearinghouse sweepstakes.” I asked him to repeat what he said. So he told me the same thing a second time. Acting, startled, surprised and happy all at once, I said, “Well that’s great, just send me the money!” He, too, hung up on me.
Maybe you have had similar experiences to these. But my favorite nuisance call (if it is lawful to have a favorite) happened about 15 years ago. A lady called at the church building and said, “I am calling about your AT&T account. I believe we can save the church some money on the phone bill by switching to a better plan.” I asked the lady, “Are you with AT&T?” She assured me that she was an AT&T account representative. I asked her again, “You are an AT&T employee, right?” She affirmed that she was.
I typically don’t listen to such calls, but if she could save the church a little money, why not? She proceeded to explain to me how the new program would work, as well as the approximate monthly savings. She calculated the amount of savings, and I decided to go with the new plan. Since I was completely convinced that she was honest and did indeed work for AT&T, I jokingly said to her, “I want you to know that if you are lying to me, God is going to get you!” It was only a joke.
She hung up the phone without another word.
THE FINAL WORD
Maybe the lady who said she was from AT&T had a little bit of conscience. But, as I classify calls, I would still put hers into the nuisance category.
There is one call that can never be classified in that category. When God calls people through the gospel, that call is sincere, honest, and is intended only to be a blessing. Hear what the Bible says about God’s call.
“He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” ().
He “has saved us and called us by a holy calling” ().
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” ().
There are many more such verses, but you get the idea. God calls us for good things. He calls us to be saved and to be blessed in His Son, Jesus the Christ.
There is nothing nuisance about any of that. I hope you are listening to His call.
Have a great day, all day!
–Max