You Might Be Addicted...

Evangelism has been a big part of my life over the past few years.  However, God has convicted me that my evangelism had become an addiction, rather than a genuine ministry.  I wanted to share with you some of the signs that helped me become aware of my addiction.  I invite you to honestly search your own heart.  If you find yourself to be an addict, please know that I am not calling on you to abandon evangelism.  Rather, I am inviting you to come before God to allow Him to realign your priorities as they ought to be.

1. You are disciplined and intentional about your evangelistic effort, yet you perpetually live with nothing more than good intentions when it comes to spending time with God in prayer and His Word..  You set a time and place to share the Gospel and NOTHING gets in the way of that.  But everything seems to absorb your time in the Lord's presence.

2. Whatever level of prayer is in place in your life is defined more by seeking a dash of blessing for your evangelism rather than developing a growing relationship with the Lord.

3. When you see a crowded park, you think "Wow - that would be a great place to preach" instead of having a heart broken with so many people who do not know Jesus.

4. You have become so good at helping people see their sins that you now approach all people looking for their faults.

5. You immediately doubt the salvation of every Christian you meet.

6. You view your own family as something holding you back from doing more evangelism.

7. You know nothing at all - even the names - of most of the people you share the Gospel with.

8. You cannot excuse a lack of evangelism in other Christians, all the while dismissing as a small thing your own areas of disobedience.

9. You spend more time talking against the false teacher on TV than you spend time talking about what God is doing.

10. You become uncomfortable when someone talks about the need to love people.  You struggle when you hear sermons about the love of God.

There are more symptoms that I saw in my own life, but these were the ten that were most alarming in my own heart.  I do not write these things with anyone else in mind but myself and what I wrestled with.  Take these or leave them as you will.  I would just invite you to be honest with yourself and the Lord as to whether things have become a bit out of balance in your life.