so says danny devito's character to soap-faced bob, in kevin spacey's the big kahuna. devito and spacey are seasoned marketing executives, currently selling industrial lubricant. bob is their junior rep, a tag-along to a national marketing convention, and a dedicated baptist stuffed full of mission. the two veterans are desperate to catch the attention of company president dick fuller, with whom bob chances to spend several hours chatting. to their dismay, bob is more interested in sharing jesus than lubricant, explaining that being a sincere human is more important than marketing a product. spacey's character explains,
but you've been insincere on an even deeper level! for this convention, we leave our humanity behind and become the hands of the company. you, you're like a hand that's severed itself from the arm and decided to go off doing your own thing--but you're still a hand!
ok, so that's not quite a direct quote. point being, whether he was discussing jesus or lubricant, bob was pitching. he had an agenda, he had an ulterior motive, he wanted the conversation to go somewhere specific so he could get across what he wanted to get across. (and i'm not explaining the movie very well, so just go rent it--it's based on a play, very well done stuff.)
tie that thought in with everything cron has been preaching the past couple weeks, about the purpose of the church (to be witnesses of the resurrection and proclaim the kingdom of god to the ends of the earth). as christians, we're called to be inseparable from our agenda. all three characters in the hospitality suite separated the "witness" from the "human"; for us, the marketing rep, the "company hand", as it were, is integral to our humanity.
that's a hard walk.
brought to mind something bob (nono, a different bob) said in our small group last week, when i was whining about how hard it is to talk to people about jesus--as soon as they realize you're "bornagain", they tune out, and it becomes nearly impossible to make a dent. bob said, basically, "you're missing the point. go wash the guy's car, or clean his gutters--THAT'S where you'll make an impact." it's hard to argue with someone who just listens, or stick a negative stereotype on the woman mowing your lawn when you had a sprained ankle.