You can't fatten a pig on market day.

This is from search ministries:

Market Day

We were in the middle of one of our golf-themed events, where one of the chaplains interviews a couple of PGA players about life on tour, favorite golf memories, best tournaments, and a bit about their faith. 

Depending on time and circumstance, we'll let the audience throw in a few questions, this was one of those nights. 

All three of our panelists this evening had been excellent student-athletes, and a proud father asked what advise they could give his son who had earned a Division 1 golf team scholarship. 

Stewart Cink threw out some good words about honoring the significance of the contract that the scholarship represented, and spoke about getting ahead in your preparations and practice. Then he unleashed this bit of redneck wisdom that had our suburban crowd jumping for their smartphones:

You've got to fatten the pig ahead of the fair. You can't fatten a pig the night before market. 

Perhaps this timeless wisdom is commonplace in your neck of the woods. Nobody at my table, or the two beside us, had heard it before. I watched a half dozen phones light up to EverNote, Facebook, or Twitter. 

It speaks deeply of the tension of our age that this picturesque parable meant to convey the idea that some important things take a long time can be captured, categorized, and broadcast worldwide in a matter of seconds. 

So much of life these days seemingly can be accomplished in a short burst of time that we lose perspective and patience on the things that take time. That list is pretty long, and full of the things that we don't really want to think about. 

I want to draw your attention to three of them, that are the keys to a relational approach to sharing your faith. 

1. We need to earn the right to be heard. Relationships take energy spent over a long time. Very few adults are open to trusting new or strange acquaintances. If we'd like a voice into their life, we'll have to demonstrate that we can be trusted to have their best interests in mind. This takes time. 
2. We need to have something intelligent to say once we've earned the right to be heard. Preparation takes time. Do you know what issues they wrestle with? Can you handle at least the most common objections and misconceptions about faith? Can you share the message of salvation clearly? You can't master these in a night, or even a week. This takes time to do well. 
3. We need to have a faith worth sharing. What is the spiritual life you are calling them to? How is your own personal relationship with God? This relationship takes no less time to develop than others. Do you love Him? Do you seek out His presence? Do you hunger for the scriptures? This takes time. 

They say the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is today. Start today investing in all three of these areas. Look for ways to deepen relationships. Make plans to sharpen your skills or broaden your knowledge. Seek hard after God. Don't wait until one of these trees blossoms to start planting the others. 

You can't fatten a pig on market day.