The 10 Second Rule
The
10 Second Rule
Several years
ago, my pastor preached a sermon on “The 10 Second Rule”. His brother-in-law
had given him a book by Clare De Graaf that shared the same name. The basic
gist of the title is that if you don’t do something you are led to do within 10
seconds of the initial leading, chances are, you won’t do it at all.
Of course,
it’s not referring to things like doing the dishes or laundry, because if it
was, I am certain there would be piles of both that would never get done. I
mean really, who thinks, “I should do the dishes” and within 10 seconds goes
and does them? For those of you saying to yourselves, “I do”, I simply say to
you, “SHOWOFF!” (Haha!) No, the 10 Second Rule refers to things on more
of a spiritual level. If we’re honest, we all have those moments when we are
prompted to do something or say something, but do we?
In a recent
Bible Study on worship, a group of ladies discussed that even simple acts of
obedience are considered worship. One lady talked of a tyme that she was in a
small conference and the facilitator asked everyone to say something about
themselves that defined their core values. She said when it got around to her,
she was prompted to say that she was a Christian, but she decided against it
and said something else. The facilitator went around the room again with the
same question and the same thing happened. Finally, on the third trip around
the room with the same question, the lady said what she was led to say and the
conference moved on.
Fortunately,
the lady in the story got multiple chances to follow the lead she was given,
but that is generally not the case. 99 tymes out of 100, we have precious few
seconds to do what we are led, or better yet asked, to do. The lady admitted
she was afraid to say she was a Christian because it was a work conference, not
a God focused conference. Ah, hello fear.
Fear is often
the reason those seconds tick away without action on our part. We are afraid of
what someone might think of us. We are afraid of the reaction we will get. We
are afraid of getting hurt, ridiculed, and judged for what we are asked to do.
Since we don’t know how it will turn out, it’s easier to just think, “it’s not
my place to say anything” or “God will send someone to help in that situation”.
But what if we are the “someone”?
Recently,
while on my way to classes at the local community college, I stopped at the
store. I had dropped a friend off at work and was running early, so I thought I
would use my tyme to get some things I needed. I forgot to eat breakfast, so I
decided I would find something to eat on the way to the college. Being a fan of
Oatmeal Cream Cookies and not often allowing myself to eat them, I decided I
would get a box of them and have one, just ONE, for breakfast. I checked out
with a few things, and my cookies, and was soon on my way.
As I drove
out of the parking lot, I saw a girl sitting along the curb, holding a carboard
sign.
Now, let
me pause here and admit to you that my thoughts are not always the best
thoughts when I see people sitting on the curb with a cardboard sign. I have
seen people stop to give money and watched the person with the sign whip out a
wad of cash that could make a mortgage payment. I’ve also seen the people with
the sign so clearly drunk or under the influence of drugs, it was clear that
the help they needed could not be bought.
While I am
certain that there are some people who really do need help, my experience in
such situations makes me quite leery, and makes me question the altruism of the
cardboard sign holder. What can I type, I’m not perfect. Anyway, back to the
story…
For whatever
reason that day, I made eye-contact with the girl holding the sign and I saw
something different. I can’t tell you what it was, but I can tell you that it
affected me. As I drove by her and pulled out on the main road, I couldn’t
shake the feeling that I was supposed to do something. What could I do though?
I wasn’t going to give her money for those reasons stated earlier, but I felt a
powerful prompting to turn around and do something.
A few seconds
later, I found myself back at the store and pulling up close to where she was
sitting. I knew that she saw me when I drove by her the first tyme, so I was
certain she realized that I turned around and came back. As I got out of the
car, I grabbed some oatmeal cream cookies and walked over to her. She stood up
and took a few steps toward me. I handed her the cookies and said, “I don’t
have much to give you, but I don’t want you to be hungry.” She quietly thanked me,
and I thought to myself that I answered the prompting, and I was good to go,
but no. Another prompting.
“Tell her
I love her and tell her that I made you turn around and come back just to tell
her that.”
Okay. So … I
admit that I was getting dangerously close to allowing the 10 seconds to expire
on that prompting. I don’t know why it seems odd to tell a random and total
stranger that God loves them. I mean as a Christian it should be second nature,
or really first nature, to say that, but that familiar adversary Fear really is
a factor.
“Tell her
I love her and tell her that I made you turn around and come back just to tell
her that.”
10….. Not
turning.…. 9….. Walking away….. 8….. Another Step… 7….. 6……..5………4………3……
“God wants
you to know that He loves you and He made me come back just to tell you that.”
I really
couldn’t believe that the words came out of my mouth, but they did. I mean I
wanted to tell her, but I didn’t think I had it in me. That’s not how I was
raised. I have no formal training in evangelism or public speaking, and I have
a great deal of anxiety and fear that prevent me from doing the things I should
do. So how was it that I just told her of God’s love for her? It was The 10
Second Rule.
You see, when
we have Jesus in our heart, He has first access to us. He knows how we should
respond and react to things, and He tells us. Quickly behind Him though comes
human nature, and that’s where things go awry. Many opportunities are lost in
the 11th second. That one tick on the clock can convince us
that we don’t need to do what we are asked to do, and that robs us and others
of many blessings.
To this day
and likely every blessed day to come, I will never truly know what God’s words
meant to that girl, but the one thing I do know is that they meant something.
The look on her face changed when she heard His words to her. I don’t know if
it was relief, disbelief, regret or acceptance, but it was something. God’s
words reached her because I listened to Him.
You know, the
truth of the matter is, God does not need us to help Him. He could have reached
that girl without me, but that wasn’t how He wanted it. He made it clear that I
was part of His plan for that girl, and honestly, she was part of His plan for
me. I learned a lot in that experience that I will hopefully carry with
me.
There is
nothing more important in this life than accepting Jesus Christ as Savior, but
almost just as important, is telling others about Him. While some opportunities
to share Jesus are easy, many are difficult. We don’t have to think twice about
sharing Jesus with those who we know, but it often takes a second thought … or
even 10 seconds of thought … to share Him with strangers.
Isaiah
chapter 55 is titled, “An Invitation to An Abundant Life” and in verse 8, God
says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are
your ways My ways”. While the chapter is filled with beautiful advice,
wisdom, and promises, I think verse 8 is The 10 Second Rule. God’s ways
don’t always – or even often – make sense to us, but when He prompts us and
asks us to do things His way, we need to listen. We need to act directly so
that the fear and doubt that show up in the 11th second don’t
prevent us from blessing others and receiving God’s blessings in return.
So, the next
tyme we get that prompt, that nudge, that idea, that thought or inkling to do
something that shares Jesus with someone else, let’s remember that God still
talks to His children through the Holy Spirit. We may not understand the
prompting, but when Jesus is Lord of our lives, we know when a prompt is from
God, and we know His ways are not our ways. We know that the gift of Salvation
through Jesus Christ is completely free to everyone, and when we accept it, God
calls us to share it…and often, as a rule, in under 10 seconds flat.
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