Here is my word of the day for you.

Finagle.

Finagle (fi-NEY-guhl) is a verb that means “to get or achieve something by guile, trickery, or manipulation.”

Jackie boasted to her friend that she could get her daddy to say “yes” even when mom said “no.” She boasted about how she could wear her father down to the point that he actually would quite often give up and give his permission. That, my friends, is exactly the word “finagle.”

I know that many of my readers have family or friends who do not know the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Many are very concerned for loved ones and so very desperately want them to know Christ. That is natural, of course. We pray earnestly. We seek to find creative ways to share the gospel. We are determined with the Lord’s help to be consistent in our lifestyle and quick to speak about the Lord to them. All of that is well and good, my friends, as long as it stops well short of finagling. We cannot manipulate or trick people into trusting Christ.

Think of what Paul told us.
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). We beseech, which means to speak, admonish, encourage, or instruct. It does not mean “finagle”!

My reminder to myself: We are to live the gospel and share the gospel. Never are we to finagle the gospel. How will this play out in your life today?