Lawrence Kelley.]

About two weeks ago, I had to replace an exterior door on our house. It had to be replaced because my dog destroyed the old one and Dad was going to be back in a few days. So, I went to the lumberyard and bought a new door. Now I’m not much of a carpenter and I lack experience in the areas of construction and repair. However, with a little figuring here and there, I was able to see what needed to be done to hang this new door.

Of course, my biggest problem became quite clear when I picked up the new door and found that it was in no way ready to be hung in place. No, instead it lacked all of the proper holes for the doorknob and the indentations for the hinges and weatherstripping. No problem, I naively thought. Three hours later, I thought again. Reflecting upon the whole incident now, I can see that I’ll never again try to construct or repair something without the proper tools. It’s difficult to try to make a two inch hole with a one inch wood bit, or to try to cut one quarter of an inch off the edge of a door with a jigsaw and still keep the edge straight. If I gained nothing else from the whole affair, I now can see the importance of working with the right tools.

We live in a world which has so stressed the idea of freedom and liberty that many folks have forgotten that they are still under bondage to sin and obligated to God. Some of the “religious leaders” and the less worldly of our day have seen this problem and have gone about trying to repair it.

However, instead of using the proper tools with which to correct the problem, they have tried to make the tools which they find most convenient fit the problem, even if those are the wrong tools. Have you ever tried to drive a nail with a screwdriver? If you have, then you can see the ineffectiveness of using the wrong tool. Instead using the Bible to try to solve the problems which we have created for ourselves because of our wickedness, we have developed our own solutions, our own rules, our own guidelines which we believe will lead us out of our sinful predicament.

tells us that the scriptures are all we need. Why can’t we be satisfied with that? What could be more simple? Yet, man’s selfish pride won’t allow him to think that there may be a way other than the one he has devised! Why must we complicate the building when the only effective tool is within our grasp?

However, there is another way in which this same idea can be applied to our Christianity. How do you teach people? Do you make a plan? Do you follow some well thought-out strategy, some line of reasoning, some “plan of attack”, or do you just wait to see what happens? We should try to use the right tools when it comes to teaching people.

Sometimes, it requires that we be very, very careful to not insult their religious beliefs, while some are more open to a direct discussion of religious differences. Sometimes we need to take a hard stand upon some issue and be strong in its defense, and in other cases we need to use more tact and avoid seeming too dogmatic and biased. One of the first things a Speech student learns is to analyze his audience and adjust his strategies accordingly. And so it should be with any teacher. You do not approach a hostile audience in the same way that you would approach a sympathetic audience.

Among those that we endeavor to teach, some will be open-minded and somewhat sympathetic, while some will be hostile and closed-minded. You can’t just go out and throw an open Bible in the face of a person and tell him that he’s going to hell if he doesn’t obey what you’re teaching him! There is so much solicitation in the world today that most folks will automatically reject that kind of approach. Wouldn’t you? Do you ever hang up on telephone salesmen who are over-bearing and rude? Even if you don’t hang up on them, do you listen open-mindedly? What, then, is the difference between that salesman and the over-bearing Christian? To most people, there is none.

The Lord recognized the different tools one can use to teach others. At times, he simple forgave instead of condemning (as with the adulteress in ). He used the right tools.

We have the proper tools at our disposal in the Word of God. We can use them to be more effective in our faith and teaching. It makes the job a lot easier.