How Much Does Our Walk Need to Match Our
Talk,
'Cause Sometimes People are Only Looking at
My Walk?
A Christian was out witnessing on the street corners and he handed one
man a gospel tract.
The man asked, “What’s
this?”
The Christian
replied, “It's a tract for you to read.”
“I
don’t read,” the man said, “but I'll tell
you what I WILL do—I will watch YOUR tracks!”
The world is more attentive to the tracks that
we make than the tracts that we give out.
Whether we
like it or not, the world is watching every move we make, and our
weaknesses and sins (our human frailties) offer us no excuse for living
inconsistent, unholy lives. After all, the Bible tells us that when our
sins increase, God's grace increases even more, so God's grace is always
sufficient to help us overcome temptation. (Romans 5:20)
In
fact, the Bible goes on to command us to “Live such good lives among the
pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your
good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
The statement is true: What we do, speaks so
loud that no one can hear what we say!
So how can we
know just how carefully we need to walk the Christian life in front of
others?
That's an important question because although our works
do not save us, our works do show others what we really believe about
the existence of God.
So just how are we supposed to decide what
we should or should not do or say in front of others?
The Bible
tells us that we are to practice spiritual discernment which is the
ability to separate divine truth from error. Moreover, God's Word also
commands us to "examine everything carefully." We are to test what we
choose to think and do and we are to test what we see and hear around us
to reveal its genuineness.
How should we test everything? As
Christians, we should be evaluating everything about our own lifestyles
and everything we come in contact with in the light of Scripture to
distinguish whether it is true or false, good or bad, right or wrong.
That can difficult to do. Why?
First, we are constantly battling with our own sinful desires.
Second, we face the possibility of
being deceived ourselves.
Third, we
are surrounded everyday by wrong influences that seek to overpower us.
Opposing the world, the flesh, and the devil requires us to
"hold fast to that which is good," because God's command requires us to
"abstain from every form of evil."
God commands us to "...be holy
in all you do." He tells us to "Be holy, because I am holy. "
So exactly how much does my walk need to match up with my talk?
Probably a lot more than most of us would imagine.
Oh Lord,
"...that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would
not be put to shame when I consider all your commands."
However, when I do put myself to shame, because of God's grace, I can
confess my sins, receive forgiveness, and go on living my life for God.
Wouldn't that be a nice tract for
someone to see?
