“Para Cumprir” or “Just Getting It Over With”
Autor: Allan Ribeiro | Publicado: 2009-05-13T23:58:00-03:00

By James A.  Choury      Haven Ministries, April 2009  Words are excellent  revealers of truth and are worth careful analysis and understanding.   Of course, words come in different packages we call languages and each  language comes saturated with a slightly (or sometimes radically) different  culture.  Words often come in phrases that convey a very special  meaning.  Very often a particular culture manages to capture a  concept and put it into words better than others.  Such is the  case with the phrase “para cumprir” in Portuguese.   The Portuguese  (and very similar Spanish) phrase “para cumprir” literally means  “to fulfill” and usually refers to fulfilling an obligation.   But when someone fulfills an obligation in this manner he does it with  no genuine interest or concern.  He does it so as not to be seen  as negligent or irresponsible.  He may even do it with apparent  enthusiasm and willingness but his heart is not really in it.   The enthusiasm and energy are part of the role playing.  We are  not called on to serve the Lord in any area simply “para cumprir”.   What is not heartfelt and motivated by genuine concern and love is not  pleasing or acceptable to God.  Nor can it be truly effective in  the long run.  Many years  ago, while living in Denver, I drove by Washington Park on a nice summer  afternoon.  I was surprised to see a man shouting to passersby  in cars and wondered if the man was emotionally troubled.  I slowed  down to see what he was saying and was interested to hear him preaching  the Gospel in little sound bites to fast moving cars as they whizzed  by.  He apparently didn’t expect anyone to stop and wasn’t  looking for personal contact or dialogue.  I suspected that he  was doing it “para cumprir”, maybe out of frustration for lack of  a better approach. In the intervening  years I have witnessed others doing evangelism in very impersonal and  non-relational ways.  I’ve even done it myself.  Many personal  evangelism methods are purposely designed to be just that.  They show  little interest in the person being addressed.  You might say they  really don’t see the person as a person at all.  They are after  a “decision”.  They have a set content to “get through”.   The evangelist is told to avoid “rabbit trails” and get to the heart  of the matter.  The idea is that people are dying by the thousands  or millions and there is no time to lose.  They appeal to the guilt  feelings of those who never witness to anyone.  They promise a  sure-fire method of getting it done. I have been  experimenting with a different approach.  I talk to people and  actually listen to them and address them as special creations made in  the image of God.  I really do want to know what they think and  try not to correct them or contradict them before they even finish their  thought.  I let them finish the conversation when they want to  and walk away if they so desire.  I try to clarify a point or plant  a seed of truth.  I’m finding that people thank me for listening  and giving them some new perspectives.  Often they want to stay  and talk more, even when they have a class to go to or some other obligation  to fulfill.  When I enter  into dialogue in a genuine person-to-person encounter with someone,  I am impacted for hours afterward and sometimes for days.  I pray  for the person and look forward to further interaction with them.   I may never see them again but trust that our sovereign God is able  to “finish the work” in His time and in His way.  I don’t  feel guilty about the hundreds of thousands that are dying each day  without Christ.  I know my limitations and only want to do my part  in God’s way; I want to see people as free agents with minds and wills  of their own and responsible for the decisions they make without pressure  or manipulation. Homework Assignment:   Make a conscious effort to mingle with unbelievers socially.  Show  some genuine interest in others.  Ask them what they think about  life.  Don’t push.  God will open the doors.