Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4

Jesus showed love and compassion everywhere He went, every day. The writer Matthew wrote that Jesus went through all the towns and villages, "teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness" (Matthew 4:23). The apostle John told how Jesus met the needs of the woman of Samaria, then His disciples, and finally a grieving father (John 4). He met those needs, whether they were for healing or for teaching.

The Stress of Our Lives
A big event in people's lives triggered needs, and the same is true today. Often a felt need is the open door that prepares a person to acknowledge his deeper, real need and Christ's solution to it. We have found that there are at least seven types of circumstances that swing open the doors of opportunity to love and help people. They are:

• Physical needs, specifically illness or hospitalizations
• Grief caused by any great loss such as death or divorce
• Marital difficulties
• Birth of a child
• Financial difficulties
• Problems with children
• Holidays

Doors of Opportunity During Marriage Difficulties
Difficulties in a marriage can become a crisis that opens doors of ministry. For example, consider asking a troubled couple to go with your spouse and you to a marriage or parenting conference. You may want to help them financially if this is possible. You may tell them, "We want to help you go with us by providing baby-sitting for you. This is really selfish on our part because we want to spend this time with you."

Maybe you could give anonymously to your church and then say, "Our church has scholarships. Let's both go!" If you cannot help financially, plan far enough in advance that both couples can save for it.

We have offered to send couples to marriage conferences, and the results have been great. Some couples are willing to go by themselves, but we have been known to get a group together to go just so that we can invite a couple we are concerned about as our guests. As CEO of our company, I can also offer this benefit to my employees, and many have taken advantage of it. As one employee wrote recently, "I thank God that you have the marriage conferences, the parenting conferences, and the children's camp programs available to your employees."

Another thing we do at work to help families as well as individuals is the chaplain program that we initiated through Marketplace Ministries. Many of our employees do not attend church regularly, so when they face a crisis they have no church of their own to call. Marketplace Ministries provides our company with a chaplain who visits once a week and gets to know the employees. He or she becomes a friend, being available and holding Bible studies before work hours. When employees face a problem, they can call on the chaplain at any time.

If you have the authority in your business to look into having this program, or to suggest it to someone else, I would strongly recommend it. The return on your investment in employee morale, productivity, and loyalty is tremendous. Best of all, lives are changed.

Doors of Opportunities During Hospital Stays
Most of us, however, do not have a company chaplain. What can we do as individuals? Here's a second suggestion, a second door of opportunity. When a neighbor or coworker is in the hospital, we can go to visit them, rather than simply sending a card. We can offer to pray with them, and do so right then in their presence. As the conversation in the hospital room unfolds, there may be a natural opportunity to talk about stress, life's crises, family reactions, and other problems.

We can then make a request: "Do you mind if I share this with my pastor so that he and my church family can pray for you?" In some cases, we could even look for an opportunity to ask if we could bring our pastor with us for a visit. The important thing is to go with a prayer for sensitivity to that person's needs and an awareness of the chances God will give for us to minister. Be bold. In asking a person if you can pray for him or her, you are not imposing on the person, but showing the depth of your care. We have never seen a case in which an offer to pray was not appreciated, and it often opens the way for more spiritual conversation.

Doors of Opportunity During Holidays
Another open door God provides to care for people is during holidays. It is easy to imagine how Christmas lends itself to giving of ourselves to others, but don't forget the less emphasized holidays. Father's Day and Mother's Day are often neglected holidays except by a parent's children, but these are great days on which to surprise someone you care about with a small token. If they do not have children, tell them that the gift is because they have a mother or father!

We decided to emphasize the week before Mother's Day at work. We gave each woman a different small gift each day. The gifts included cards, candy, a flower, and a small book. The morale in the office was sky-high for a long time. On Father's Day, I inserted tracts about Father's Day in the paychecks. Another year we sent a letter, and a third year we sent a small book. I sent these not only to our employees, but also to our contacts in the business world. One letter I received back from a supplier said, "Thank you for your letter. What pleased me most was the information that was inside, the tracts on being a better dad. Raising a family is often difficult." We have found people to be highly appreciative of any effort to make them feel special, especially since daily life does not often produce that effect.

Good material on the family, children, or marriage is usually freely received. Later, when we want to say or send something that is spiritual in nature, people are receptive.

The Fourth of July is another overlooked opportunity as a rule. One year we sent a letter, along with the book Preserve Us a Nation, by Charles Crismeier, to friends and business associates. This book relates many stories about the heroes of our nation's early years. It emphasizes our nation's biblical roots. The reaction to that book from our suppliers was eye-opening. One supplier wrote," As we celebrate our nation's birthday, this book is indeed an appropriate reminder. Because I travel quite a bit, I am never far from a book. This book will be with me on my next trip." Another replied, "This book will remain among my treasured readings. Thanks for thinking of me."

Of course, the holiday that means the most personally is a person's birthday. How long has it been since you have received a birthday card from someone other than your family? Another holiday like that is a wedding anniversary; not even family members remember that one. It means a lot, therefore, when someone remembers your special day. We make it a practice to send birthday cards, and once in a while, we send a card or an encouraging note to someone, not realizing that it will arrive on their birthday.

On one such occasion, the lady involved wrote back, "Bless you for your kindness to me in sending the precious book, A Mother's Journey. I'll attempt to explain to you the significance of your obedience to the Lord's prompting. The book arrived on my birthday. Because of the nature of our schedule, it was the only acknowledgement of my birthday. Also, the Lord told me that He had something for me when I opened your package. I knew what it was; the Lord was kissing me through you. Thank you for your sensitivity. Every time you have given to us it has met an exact need."

I can't tell you how many times people have told me that a card or pamphlet has arrived at an exact moment of need. Of course, there is no way I could know that; it is God's work. He is faithful and true in His love. The awesome knowledge that He is willing to use me to touch others keeps me on my knees in gratitude to Him. What a privilege and a joy it is to be His child.

Doors of Opportunities During Crises
Years ago Angela worked in our office. She was young and bright, just out of high school when she entered employment. During her first year with us, her dad died of cancer. Four years later, her mother died of cancer. She had been through two major life-changing episodes in four years. I watched her closely and prayed that God would make me sensitive to her and her pain. But every time I asked her how she was, she answered in a positive way. Davidene and I had discussed her situation several times and did not know how to help her through her pain except to pray and encourage her.

Several months later Angela appeared at the door to my office, broken and sobbing. I listened as she agonized over her feelings of isolation. She truly believed that God had left her. My own heart broke for her and soon tears were streaming down both of our faces. I shared with her that she was of great value to God; He loved her and had not abandoned her. We ended our conversation by praying aloud, a new experience for her. When we finished, her countenance had changed. There was a look of peace rather than sorrow, and joy had replaced fear. Angela was a different person. Later, she wrote to explain how that time of expressing her anger and grief helped her understand God and her own feelings. She was convinced that such times of listening and praying with those who are hurting can help.

After losing her mother at age twenty-two, only four years after her father's death, Angela wrote, "I felt completely alone. Who could I turn to; whom could I trust? Now I was not only disappointed with God; I was angry. I had convinced myself that I was being punished for something I had done, or maybe something I had not done … I struggled with this for some time and my faith was diminishing. I seldom prayed, and when I did there was not that 'connection' I had known before.

"Over a year later, I muscled up all my courage and went to see the one man I knew could give me the advice and wisdom I needed, our CEO. After sitting in his office for an hour, crying so hard I could barely be understood, I became convinced that it was not my fault, I was not being punished. I was only punishing myself for letting my relationship with God fail. Before leaving the office, Kent asked me to do something I felt very uncomfortable doing; he asked me to pray aloud with him. For the first time in months, I prayed for God to forgive me for turning away from Him when I needed Him most. Because of this, I am a better Christian today than ever before. I honestly believe in my heart that if this man had not been openly demonstrating his beliefs so strongly, I would never have gone to him."

The Provision for Our Lives
Have you ever been nervous when put in a position like the one I just described? Is the thought that you might have to come up with the right words to say to a person in crisis frightening to you? The disciples felt the same way. Jesus' answer to them is His answer to us, "Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11).

We may not be literally arrested and sent to jail, but we do feel sometimes as if facing such situations is a trial. But it is not our responsibility to plan everything. The Holy Spirit will bring to our minds exactly what we need at that time. The more time we have spent with Jesus in His Word the Bible, the more prepared we are. With God's Word in our heart and minds, the Holy Spirit has a lot He can use. Jesus told His disciples, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (John 14:26).

Being aware of the needs of others is sometimes difficult. Such awareness may not come naturally, yet God can develop your sensitivity. I realized early that sensitivity is not a natural strength of my personality type; in fact, normally it is nonexistent. Being a hard driver who tends naturally to run over people on the way to a goal, I work hard at developing this characteristic.

You may need to focus on developing that sensitivity. Here are several methods to help us increase our sensitivity to others.

Increasing our sensitivity through prayer. First, we can pray for people, especially by name. Often I would hear of a family in need, and I promised that I would pray for them. A week or two later, when I would see them again, I remembered that I had good intentions, but had not prayed. So, I began the practice (nearly fifteen years ago) of writing down needs on a 3x5 card, taking seriously my commitment to pray. When God began to answer these prayers, I started to get excited and wanted to do it even more.

Over the years as I wrote down specific requests and prayed for them, I became more interested in people's situations and wanted to do more. Then Davidene began to bring other names and requests to me, and a mutual sharing of those needs evolved. It all starts with prayer.

Increasing our sensitivity through acts of kindness. Second, give encouragement. Look for ways, however small, to encourage others. It is encouraging when someone will stop by another's desk for a brief "good morning" and a smile. A person feels special when a friend inquires about his child, his progress on a project, or his spouse's ball game last night. A note of support, encouragement, or congratulations left on a coworker's desk or a teenager's table does wonders for the person's outlook.

Increasing our sensitivity through giving gifts. Third, offer well-written tools. Giving a card, magazine article, or book puts your focus on others, and finding the right one will make you more sensitive to their needs. When possible, choose greeting cards and other literature that ate based on God's Word.

Surprisingly, we found that this simple encouragement was so rare that people were overwhelmed. God began to heal them physically and emotionally; many were able to receive specific promises from cards, the Scriptures, and booklets. We began to understand that we were just a conduit for God's love to those around us. These were people that we saw everyday where we lived, worked, and played.

It is amazing how this simple ministry has expanded. In one recent month, five different coworkers lost a family member. We have learned that critical times in a person's life do not end quickly, so we tailor what we send and the length of time we send them to each person. A person in grief may receive items from us once every few weeks, then once a month for up to a year. Over a period of years of looking and reading, we have compiled a list of our favorite pamphlets, bookmarks, cards, and books. We update the list constantly as new material comes on the market.

You may be thinking, "If I give that much stuff away, I will the one in financial crisis." Let us assure you that such is not the case. These items can be as small as a thirty-nine-cent bookmark or a one-dollar pamphlet. We have, however, found that it helps to have an amount for "ministry" in our budget. Let me share just a couple of the reactions we have received as a result of this endeavor.

"Thank you for sending us the book on hope," wrote a father who lost his son to suicide. "Each day is a struggle as we deal with grief. Some days we don't leave our house or answer our phone. We are praying hard to God for strength to endure our terrific loss of our special child. We take each day one hour at a time, and hopefully one day we will start functioning normally again. Thank you for caring about us. Believe me, the book helped."

The way you minister will be different for each person. For example, I have given many stories about sending cards and books. That is just one way, one well suited to me, to minister. How each of us ministers is influenced by our backgrounds, personalities, gifting, experiences, abilities, and talents. The point is that when a door of opportunity is open, walk through it.

The key is not how we minister, but that we do it. If someone is in grief, four different Christians may help that person in four different ways. The creativity of our great God is unlimited. Each of us is unique, placed by the Father to be His personal representative to those who need Him. As we become more sensitive to those around us, we will experience the words of Jesus in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

Kent and Davidene Humphreys spend much of their time ministering to business leaders, pastors, and church laity across the country through speaking, writing, mentoring, and encouraging. Kent has been a business leader for thirty years and he is currently the President of Christ@Work in Atlanta.

From: Show and Then Tell: Presenting the Gospel through Daily Encounters (Moody Press, 2000). Used by permission.