Presenting the Good News—In a Tactful Way
1 “Let your utterance be always with graciousness, seasoned with salt, so as to know how you ought to give an answer to each one.” (Col. 4:6) What fine advice the apostle Paul gave! We do well to keep his counsel in mind as we share the truth with others.—2 Cor. 6:3.
IN HOUSE-TO-HOUSE MINISTRY
2 Tact involves knowing what to do or say to maintain good relations with others and to avoid giving offense. In our door-to-door activity we meet people who tell us they are busy. If we see they are genuinely busy, we may just briefly offer the literature and tell them we would like to return on another occasion to talk with them. If they do not seem to be all that busy, we might say, “Then I will be brief.” Afterward, we can summarize what we had hoped to discuss, confining our comments to a minute or so.
3 At times we may meet householders who are rude. We do not want to be ill-mannered in our reply and “return evil for evil.” (Rom. 12:17) We need to be tactful, paying attention to the reminder at Proverbs 15:1: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage.” The material on pages 15-24 of the Reasoning book will help us to respond to householders in a mild, tactful way.
ON RETURN VISITS
4 Oftentimes when we call back on individuals who have taken literature, we find they have not looked into the publication at all. We want to encourage such people to read the literature they obtained. To do this we might tactfully point to interesting questions that the publication answers. This may whet their spiritual appetite and motivate them to look into the printed material they have.
5 Many of us have had the experience of making a definite appointment for a return visit, only to find that the person was not at home when we called back. While this is disappointing and may have cost us time and effort, when we meet the person again we should still be tactful in what we say. We can tell him we were sorry we did not find him home and mention that we will put forth a special effort to call again and that we look forward to a further Bible discussion.
ON BIBLE STUDIES
6 Individuals do not always prepare for their studies. When this is the case, we might take a little time to show them how to prepare. Or we might point out some of the things they could learn by preparing ahead of time. The study would move along faster, and they would make more progress.
7 An individual with whom we study may not be attending meetings as regularly as he should. We could discuss scriptures such as Psalm 133:1 or Hebrews 10:24, 25 and ask him how he understands these verses. Some publishers who came into the truth rather quickly may become impatient with those who make progress slowly. But we want to remember that individuals are not all alike, and so we need to exercise greater patience with some.
8 Paul told Timothy that “a slave of the Lord . . . needs to be gentle toward all, . . . instructing with mildness those not favorably disposed.” (2 Tim. 2:24, 25) If that is true of those “not favorably disposed,” those who have shown interest to the point of agreeing to study should certainly be dealt with in a mild and tactful way. This would include our children and others in our own family with whom we study.
9 As we present the good news from house to house, on return visits, or at Bible studies, may all of us copy the fine example of the Great Teacher, Jesus, who said of himself, “I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart.” (Matt. 11:29) We should display like qualities, being mild-tempered and tactful in our preaching and disciple-making work.