The Big Kahuna is a 1999 movie starring Danny DeVito and Kevin Spacey. It’s not really a very good of a movie. It’s about three salesmen at a convention trying to land a major account, and they refer to him as the Big Kahuna, thus the name of the movie.
They can never find the man to make their sales pitch, but the day after a big reception where they had hoped to meet him, they discover that the youngest member of their sales team (who happens to be a Christian) did run into the man. However, he found out that the man (the Big Kahuna) was also a Christian, so they ended up discussing the Bible and Christ instead of the product they wanted the customer to buy.
Of course, the two older salesmen were livid, and Danny DeVito’s character chastised the young man. He told him that when he discussed God, he became God’s salesman instead of the company’s that sent him to the convention and pays his salary.
When I first saw the movie, I didn’t think too much about this final scene. But over the years as I thought more about it the more upset it made me.
Christians are not salesman. We do not present a product to the world that will make them happier, their disposition brighter, and their lives easier. If anything, it’s just the opposite. Jesus warned that following him would split families and would cause persecution even to the point of death. He gave parables that said only a fool would start something was able to finish, and that no king would start a war he could not win. He told perspective disciples that to go with him meant they would have no home to rest their heads and if they did not put him first, they weren’t worthy of him. In all these instances, his point was for people to weigh the personal cost of discipleship.
The Book of Acts is not just the story of how Christianity started and filled the Roman Empire. It is an explanation of finding something worth dying for. Remember Stephen was stoned, James was killed with a sword, Peter had to go into hiding, Paul was shipwrecked, stoned, beaten with rods, and imprisoned. Who would endure such hardships and death for a mere product that might improve your life?
This is why I’ve always hated the term “Soul Winning.” It sounds like we’re using sales tactics to bring people to Christ, and if so, we are doing them a disservice. The Way is hard, and if we fail to tell them that up front, we are doing them wrong. That is what I find so evil about prosperity gospel preachers such as Joel Osteen or Beth Moore. They are at best salesmen, at worse hucksters.
Yes, we need to tell people that the grace of God is a free gift we can never earn, but to follow Christ is hard and costly. You could lose your family, you will be persecuted and looked down upon, people will see you as an unthinking closeminded foolish rube that bitterly clings to your Bible and think you deplorable. You will be hated for Christ’s sake with a hatred that may cost you your life. However, anything worthwhile is difficult to obtain and requires hard discipline to achieve. Following the Way of Jesus is worthwhile.
Remember we are not God’s salesmen; we are Christ’s ambassadors. And remember a king’s ambassadors in a hostile land are often abused, imprisoned, and even killed.
#TheBigKahuna, #Salesmen, #Ambassadors