There are some things in life that simply cannot be ordered. No matter how loud the command or how persuasive the authority, certain human experiences are immune to force. Love, for instance, cannot be demanded. You cannot order someone to love you; it must arise naturally, from genuine connection, mutual respect, shared values and perhaps attraction. The same is true of laughter. You cannot walk into a room and command, “Laugh!” and expect anyone to actually do it, unless perhaps they’re pretending. But if you want real laughter, the kind that lifts a soul and warms a room, you need to say something funny. You need to evoke joy, not demand it.
This principle extends even deeper into the realm of faith. Religion, belief in God, spiritually which are deeply personal, emotional, and existential experiences. You cannot preach belief into someone like a commandment. You cannot recite a doctrine and expect transformation if the life behind the words does not embody the spirit they are meant to express cause people know where there’s authenticity and where it lacks.
If you truly want people to believe in God, not just intellectually, but spiritually, emotionally, and wholeheartedly, your first task is to portray your God believably. And then you must act credibly through your actions, through the kind of person you are. So that the spirit in what you are saying and the spirit in what guides your actions is the same
If the God you speak of is loving, are you loving? If you say your faith brings peace, does your presence bring calm or conflict? If you preach hope, do you live hopefully? In the end, your example carries more weight than your explanation. A credible life makes a more convincing case for belief than any sermon.
People are moved by integrity, not instruction. They genuinely follow what they see, not just what they’re told. When words and life align when your faith is not just preached, but practiced, then belief can take root. And when you combine both truthfully…living well and speaking sincerely and truth then you give people something worth believing in because some things can never be ordered. They must be inspired.
Using fear to push people into religion, fear-mongering about the end times, hell, and judgment might fill seats, but it doesn’t form true disciples. Fear may provoke a response, but it rarely leads to lasting transformation. At best, it creates numbers on a church roster, not lives that reflect the heart of God and genuinely want others to have what they actually have.
Likewise, teaching doctrine alone, while important, often only produces intellectual Christians..people who can recite what is right but struggle to live it out. Knowledge without lived experience becomes hollow. It may impress, but it doesn’t inspire change.
If we want people to genuinely follow God, the message we preach must be reflected in the lives we live. The God we speak of must be portrayed in a believable way, through love, compassion, humility, and integrity.
It’s the alignment between message and lifestyle that creates real, lasting impact. That kind of integrity is the hallmark of a true gospel worker not just someone who knows the truth, but someone who lives it so authentically that others are naturally drawn to the Source behind it. They don’t rely on fear or emotional manipulation to persuade; instead, they win hearts through the quiet power of a consistent, credible Christ-centred life.
Fire-Tested Faith