Walk Worthy



Do you ever stop to think about how your actions affect the people around you?

When you perform a random act of kindness it can have a positive effect on the people that you encounter daily. It can be as simple as letting the frazzled mom at the grocery store check out in front of you or paying for the person's coffee behind you at Starbucks. Any way that you can treat another person with kindness can help to show them the love of Christ.

But have you ever stopped to think about the flip side of that behavior? How does a negative action affect others?

You would probably agree that churches should be the best breeding ground for the ideal behavior, but let me share a couple of examples that show that we might need a little bit of help.

One of the young girls at our church confessed that she had accidentally pulled out in front of a car because the parking lot where she works is difficult to see oncoming traffic. As she glanced at the oncoming car she saw the middle finger of the driver pop up, but even worse was the fact that she recognized the other drive as a member of our church, who had a horrified expression on her face realizing what she had done and who she had done it to. My friend laughed it off, but think of how another person might have been affected by that action. It might have cemented in their mind that Christians are hypocrites. It might have spoiled their witness. It could have ruined a friendship. The possibilities are endless, but one action in haste can be dangerous.

The other story happened in another city. I questioned my friend about why they had changed churches; her answer was surprising. I thought she would say something about the pastor or the music or the doctrine, but her answer was nothing like that. One Sunday the pastor's message was on treating others with kindness. My friend and her husband were parked in the first spot and not one person stopped to let them out. It sounds simple and silly, but my friends determined that if no one would stop to let them out of the parking lot then the people at that church must not be listening to the message. They didn't want to be a part of that kind of fellowship. They wanted to belong to a church where people heard the sermon and were changed by it.

Little things can make a big difference. What should you be doing differently as a representative of Jesus?

1 Thessalonians 2:12 …Walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

www.hearthope.org

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