“The point here is not that I minded someone trying to convert me. But I did mind the fundamental dishonesty of their approach, a “conversation” which was so one-sided.”

I love how you put this.

I am guilty of doing the same thing. In my zeal of wanting to tell people about Jesus I could not hear what they were saying. I had a message to get across. That’s what mattered.

In hind sight, I now realize that much of the evangelism of my youth was about assuaging my conscience of the guilt. Unfortunately too many sermons from the pulpit trained me to preach but not listen; to lecture but not dialogue.

I’m older now, wiser, mellowed out, like a fine, red wine. Now I listen. I’ve been humbled. Yes, I’m passionate and absolutely sold over on the beauty of Jesus. But there is nothing beautiful about bulldozing people with street corner sermons.

Basically, I’ve learned to shut up and listen.

I found out after about 30 minutes of conversation and wondering that they were Amway distributors. I was so angry that they even began to presume that I wanted to hear that.

How much more respect I would have had for them if they had said, “Can we come and talk to you about Amway?” even though the answer would still have been “no.”

Courtesy and openness ought to be fundamental ingredients of any human conversation.