Consider how persuasive Jesus was when he looked up in the tree and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house” (Lk 19:5). Or when he said to Matthew just two words, “Follow me” (Mt 9:9). Without hesitation, Zacchaeus came down, and Matthew followed. Both were irresistibly persuaded.

Many irresistible communication techniques exist, one being “to turn a situation around on another person,” using the energy they are attempting to impose on you to creatively flip them around to your side. Jesus was pretty good at this — taking all the challenging questions thrown at him by his adversaries and turning the issues back on the inquiring person.

What would Jesus do?

Consider Jesus’ handling of the accusers of the woman caught in adultery, who threw her sin at Jesus to try to trap him. He threw their sins back, not by accusing them out loud, but instead he quietly wrote their sins in the sand (as some have hypothesized). The accusers could not argue about what he wrote without incriminating themselves.

And then there was Caesar’s image on the Roman coin and whether people should pay the emperor or not. Jesus did not address the validity of the coin, but he told the crowd to give it to whomever it belongs. How can you argue with that? If it is Caesar’s, give it to Caesar.

Even as Jesus was being led to his death on the cross, he responded irresistibly to Pilate’s query: “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus didn’t argue with the governor; he merely responded, “You say so” (Mt 27:11) . Jesus turned it around and put the answer right in Pilate’s mouth.

An incident for today

Speaking of turning things around, I went to the gas station, filled ’er up and, of course, no paper receipt was forthcoming from the pump. This is one of my pet peeves. So, into the station I trudged to politely point out the issue to a gruff-looking fellow behind the counter, whose name tag read “David.”

“Doesn’t it seem that there should be receipt paper in the gas pump out there,” I said, heavily implying that I would not be coming back due to the inconvenience.

He kind of smiled and said, “When you come in here, you get a free cup of coffee or any drink you want over there.”

“You mean, I get a free drink just because I had to come in here, since there was no paper?”

He smiled bigger and said, “No, anytime you come inside.”

“All I have to do is come inside and pay?”

“Yes, anytime inside.” By then I was smiling too as he handed my receipt over.

So, what just happened? Because of David’s irresistible communication, going inside the gas station is no longer a pet peeve. Just that quickly, David turned me around from being a lost, frustrated customer into one who can’t wait to go back and buy gas at his station again. What he did was to flip a complaint regarding his management into admiration for his business acumen.

It doesn’t end there

David followed me outside to correct the paper situation at the pump. He showed me what he has to deal with constantly: someone ripped the receipt off too soon and jammed the dispenser. He was patient with the whole process as he fixed the issue.

What a beautiful thing if we were all so generous with each other and didn’t take advantage of one another’s generosity. It might also be helpful to think about alternative explanations for occasional annoying circumstances before we complain, and this reminder begins with yours truly.

Lord Jesus, help me to think before I act, and to learn to communicate as effectively as you — and David.