Fox, Michael J. - Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Fox Michael J

Author:Fox, Michael J.
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf

Faith

SALLY FANJOY--JAMES LABRENZ

SALLY FANJOY--JAMES LABRENZ

Hell Hath No Fury

For part of our summer each year, my family rents a smal house in suburban Long Island, about a half mile from the beach. This is the time of summer when the kids are at camp or involved in one activity or another. Late one morning, Tracy was out on a bike ride and I was lounging on the wraparound porch reading. Hearing the crunch of footsteps on the gravel driveway, I looked up to see a youngish couple, she in a plain modest dress and he in a suit jacket and tie, making their way toward the house. I met them at the edge of the porch, knowing, of course, that they were Jehovah's Witnesses. They introduced themselves as such and handed me a Watchtower tract.

According to family practice and the custom of most people I've known throughout my life, my next move was supposed to be to say, "No, thanks," and close the door politely but firmly. Two things prevented me from doing that.

The first, most practical reason being that we were outside, and therefore I had no door to close in their face even if I was so inclined. Secondly, I was curious. What message is so powerful that it compels these people to don church clothes on a hot August day and set out on foot to visit homes to which they are uninvited, petitioning people who don't want to see them, to deliver a message they don't want to hear?

What makes the stakes so high for them? Are they driven by hope, by faith, by fear for me or for themselves? I was as surprised as they were to hear myself invite them onto the porch to have a seat. They had roughly fifteen minutes or so to tel me their story.

What fol owed was a standard pitch from which I could not sway them. There was an interesting moment, though, when the husband, after a few shared looks with his wife, nervously asked if I was Michael J. Fox. I confirmed the ID

but had to ask how two fol owers of their particular faith would recognize me from television or the movies, when, as I understood it, those pastimes were forbidden. Having no answer for this, they shifted the conversation away from their transgression and back to the subject of my salvation. You could say that my wil ingness to hear them out was an expression of my faith, my instinct that it's always good to give something when I can. I like to think that I'm open to other people, un-afraid of new ideas. It was unlikely that during those few minutes on the porch I could be coerced into surrendering my soul, so there was no reason why I couldn't surrender a few minutes of my time. This was an opportunity to hear their point of view, not defend my own. Al I had to do was sit down and listen.

Listening to people espouse beliefs

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