Friday, August 31, 2012

The Drive-Thru Diference?

You may have heard about the drive-thru difference. This is being promoted by different radio stations but in particular the one in the Washington DC area is where I first heard it. The concept is this, when you go to pay for your order pay for the one behind you as well. Sounds like a nice thing to do, right? After all Christ said it’s better to give than receive. However, I was bothered by this. At first I didn't know why but after some study and thought I found why I take issue with how this is being promoted. To illustrate the problem let’s look at what is posted on the radio station’s website. Here we find a flyer they suggest you leave for the person behind you to read explaining what just happened. This is what it says:

Hi! I just wanted you to know someone cares. You don’t know me, but I’ve just paid for your order. Just something I felt like doing. I heard about people doing things for others on the radio on WGTS 91.9. They call it the Drive-Thru Difference. Maybe you’ll feel like doing it for someone else and sharing. I hope this encourages you today! (Emphasis added)

Did you catch that last part? The reason they suggest you are doing this is to encourage others. Encourage them to what? Die in their sins? What is missing from this message? It’s the Gospel. Being this is a Christian radio station you would presume that Christians are the ones asked to do this. Instead what happens is another wasted opportunity to share the good news of the saving grace of God. So what if some lost person gets a free Big Mac. All that does is allow a person to go to hell with a full stomach and wallet. We need to proclaim the Word of God. As Jesus said, there will always be poor among you (John 1:28) but what we will not always have is time itself. If you want to pay for the person behind you great, I have done this many times. But instead of leaving a radio promotion behind leave a gospel tract. The fruits of repentance cannot grow if the seed is not first planted. Go serve and obey.

No comments:

Post a Comment