I’ve been sitting on this blog post for a while. Not literally, of course, but it has been tucked away in my notes for months.

For a while, I was trying to post consistently, but then fear crept in. I started second-guessing myself and stopped writing. Looking back, I think the Lord was teaching me something. When He gives you a gift, He doesn’t intend for you to hide it.

So, here’s a short story.

A few months ago I was talking with a close friend about something I had written. In the post, I shared that through my walk with Christ I’ve learned I have no desire to convince anyone of anything.

The conversation took an unexpected turn.

My friend asked, “If someone was trying to end their life, wouldn’t you try to convince them otherwise?”

That question stuck with me. It convicted me because, of course, I would do everything I could to help preserve someone’s life. But I realized that wasn’t what I meant. When I say I don’t want to convince people, I’m talking about everyday conversations, not life or death situations.

Still, that conversation made me more self-conscious about sharing my thoughts. It’s hard to put yourself out there when you feel like people may misunderstand you or think less of you.

Then over the past few weeks, I felt the Lord gently reminding me, “Share. Not to convince people to believe exactly as you do, but because someone who already feels this way may need to know they’re not alone.”

So, here I am.

I’ve realized that I’m around a lot of people who feel the need to make others see things exactly the way they do. They debate, persuade, and sometimes argue until someone agrees.

I just don’t have that desire.

This thought first surfaced after my last blog post about what marriage has taught me. I remember telling my husband,

“The most interesting part of what I wrote is that there are probably people who completely disagree with me, and the best part is…they can.”

And that’s okay.

The world today often tells us that opposing views make us enemies. But I don’t think that’s true.

I actually believe we grow by hearing perspectives that challenge our own. That’s why I don’t share my thoughts with the goal of winning people over. I share them because I genuinely enjoy thoughtful conversation, and I’m just as interested in hearing someone else’s perspective as I am in sharing my own.

1 Corinthians 3:6-7

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

John 10:26-27

“But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Matthew 13:11

“He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”

These scriptures remind me that I don’t have to argue someone into believing. I don’t have to carry the weight of changing someone’s heart because I can’t.

God is the One who calls His people.

God is the One who gives the increase.

My responsibility is simply to faithfully plant the seed.

That realization was incredibly freeing.

For a long time I thought I needed to be the Christian who debated everyone, defended every point, and convinced people why they needed Christ. But that isn’t how God has called me to serve.

Some people are gifted at defending the faith through conversation and reason. Some are gifted in evangelism through debate and reasoning. Praise God for them.

But I realized I was exhausting myself trying to fit into a role God never asked me to fill.

He simply asked me to share.

And once I understood that spiritually, it began changing every other area of my life.

If I don’t feel responsible for convincing someone to follow Christ, why would I feel responsible for convincing someone to share every opinion I have?

So yes, I’ll share my thoughts.

If you disagree, that’s okay.

If you agree, that’s okay too.

I’ll gladly have conversations with people who see the world differently than I do because I’m not entering those conversations trying to win. I’m entering them to understand, to share, and to learn.

Now, that doesn’t mean every conversation is worth having. There are discussions I simply choose not to entertain. For example, I have no interest in debating whether God exists. Not because I can’t, but because I don’t feel called to.

And that’s the beauty of it.

I don’t have to.

When I do choose to have a conversation, I no longer feel the pressure of changing someone’s mind.

That burden doesn’t belong to me.

I leave all the convincing to God.

And honestly, there is so much freedom in that.

If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear about it. How have you learned to share what you believe without feeling like you have to win people over? Drop a comment; I read every one.