Christians, preach the Gospel. Do not debate.

"Win an argument, lose a soul"

One the best illustrations of this Dominican maxim is a true story written by a priest who was sitting in a restaurant with two other priests wearing roman collars, when a waiter asks a sincere question about what Jesus would say about living with his girlfriend:

Win An Argument, Lose a Soul

The latter, winning a victory over another, not for truth or God or love, is a hell in miniature.

But the celebrity priest sat back in his chair, shot my friend and me a self righteous glance, and replied to the waiter, “Listen buddy. Maybe you have a problem with church teaching and you can’t sleep at night, but I don’t. I certainly don’t have any problem sleeping at night.” –and he said something else but by this point I was stunned. He was arrogant before, but I didn’t expect him to do this. The waiter’s face went red and he looked so embarrassed. I was in shock myself because I couldn’t believe what I heard. The waiter was still polite and excused himself, and I didn’t see him again, even though I looked after dinner.

I absolutely DO believe there is right and wrong, and the true mission of a man of God…or anyone for that matter…is to know that truth and to share it with others so that they can see for themselves. But to destroy someone so that your ego can feel the thrill of victory, that arrogance of the King of the Hill…I have actually SEEN the damage, the destruction of a soul right as it happens. I won’t soon forget that waiter’s face, seeing his spirit crushed in front of my eyes. I could see he turned inward, and I had the clear sense he saw that priest’s words as confirmation that he was ‘bad’ and had no business approaching God in his life. Instead of a moment to be brought a little closer to God in his life, he was sent away and made to feel ashamed of himself.

This “celebrity” priest, so ‘brilliant’ and ‘holy’ to many…won his argument, at least in his own mind, but he lost a soul. And he didn’t let the soul drop from his hands, which would’ve been bad enough. That would have been irresponsible. No, this was intended, active cruelty behind a collar, and that soul might have been lost forever because of him.

Win An Argument, Lose a Soul