"No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care." Maybe you've heard that saying before. It's a popular one and there's a lot of truth in it! Generally, it means that if I want to speak into someone's life, situation, or story, they are much more inclined to listen if they know I am genuinely interested in their well-being.
In contemporary American Christianity, this idea gets expressed in phrases like "earning the right to be heard." As Christians, we know that we are commanded to share the gospel; to tell others about what Jesus Christ has done in His cross and resurrection. "But," the supposed wisdom says, "people will be much more likely to hear us out if they know we care about them. If we've developed a relationship and demonstrated our sincere love for them, they will be more open to hearing us talk about Jesus." This is also sometimes referred to as relational evangelism, evangelism primarily accomplished through developing relationships with non-Christians.
Let me just be up front and say I have no problems with relational evangelism. Just as Jesus ate and drank with sinners, developing relationships with them and investing His life into theirs, so we should have non-Christian relationships that we pour into with sincere love. It is true that unbelievers are often way more inclined to give you a hearing when talking about Jesus if they know you aren't just there to berate them. If they know that you are actually trying to tell them the truth in love (Eph 4:15), they are more open to hearing you out.
The problem is when we think that relational evangelism is the ONLY way to share the gospel. I recall a specific conversation I had in the last few years with another minister: we were discussing the merits/downsides of street preaching. His main objection was that, in street preaching, I had no relationship with the people I was preaching to. To use the phrase: I had not "earned the right to be heard" with the people passing by. In his mind, this made it an unacceptable way to share the gospel. He instead recommended I have non-Christians over to my house for dinner. (Something I also love doing!)
Do Christians need to earn a hearing? If the question is necessity, the answer is no! Consider Paul's words, "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God." (2 Corinthians 5:20) An ambassador is someone who is sent to represent their country. They don't go on their own authority; they are sent. And they are not answerable to the land to whom they are sent: they are answerable only to the one who sent them.
Paul also uses the image of a herald: someone who is officially sent to spread a message publicly. "And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!'" (Romans 10:15) A herald in the old days was sent out under an authority (a duke, a king, a government, etc.) and his job was simply to publish a message. He was not responsible to first develop relationships with everyone in the town he went to: he simply proclaimed the news!
Christian, you have been sent under authority. When Jesus Christ called His Church to preach the gospel to all the world (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15) He wasn't giving you an option. He is the King of kings, and He sends you into the world as a herald of His victory. You are not sent on your own authority, but you speak on behalf of the King. There is nothing more that Jesus needs to do to earn a hearing from the world. He demands to be heard. If they will not hear, that's their problem. Your job, Christian, is to herald Him. Tell the world about Him. Don't wait until you've reached some arbitrary relational milestone to tell your neighbor, your coworker, your loved one about Jesus. Tell them now! AND show them you care through loving action and sharing life together.
May our bold proclamation of Jesus, matched by the evidence of His transforming power in our lives, produce an abundant harvest of disciples for His kingdom. He is worthy of it all!
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