Holes or Drill Bits

Theodore Levitt wrote Market Myopia where he argued that people become product oriented instead of customer oriented. There is an anecdote that is commonly used to explain this principle. There was a company that sold a million drill bits and not one of the customers wanted a drill bit. The customers wanted holes.

So what does this have to do with us and our spiritual life? We are not selling a product, but we are supposed to sow the seeds of the gospel. Personal evangelism is something that has changed and will continue to change the world. In this we are trying to teach people the gospel. The first thing that is required for us to successfully teach is a willing student. So why would someone be willing to listen to the gospel?

If you are selling rules and regulations, there are people who are interested. They may like the idea of having boundaries in their lives. They may like being different and living to some standard outside of themselves.

If you are selling multiple weekly meetings of the club, there are people who are interested. They will get the chance to see “good people” and sing and enjoy the sense of belonging.

If you are selling academic studies of an interesting book, again some people will be excited with the opportunity to participate. They can get different reference materials and study and teach classes and impress people with their knowledge.

Or we can offer to help them learn the true meaning of life, find a higher purpose, and most importantly salvation through Jesus Christ. This salvation will include conforming their life to a higher standard, meeting with the saints to encourage and edify, and studying the word of God to find out how to be pleasing to Him. These are the things that can and will be enjoyed by the saved, but they are not the end of the matter. They are the “drill bits” that bring us closer to God and salvation through Jesus Christ His Son.

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