Recently I heard a school receptionist say that a certain teacher had lied. Surprised, I asked what he said, and she explained that he requested a sick day, then asked if he could count it a sick day if he had been fighting off a migraine headache. “I don’t care why he wants a day off or if he counts it as a sick day. He didn’t have to give his reason, and he shouldn’t have lied about it,” she said. “And this isn’t the only time he has done this.”
She further explained that she had lost respect for the man who is a Christian, a preacher, and a pastor.
I thought about that. Our words matter. Our attitudes matter. Our demeanor matters.
A while back I was reading some posts on Facebook by some atheists. These posts were critical, denigrating Christians and their God. I tend to ignore Facebook posts (or any conversations) that belittle anyone. A person can criticize what I support or believe without degrading me and attacking my character. Those who attack others with put-downs show immaturity, ignorance, and plain old meanness. So, I don’t even know why I was reading the posts. But one comment made me think. It was also critical of Christians and their God, then the person said that those who followed the teachings of Jesus seemed usually to be pretty good. Something like that.
It made me think that if we truly follow the teachings of Jesus, we will act like Him and honor him in every aspect of our lives. We will love and show love for others regardless of who or what they are. We will respect others. We will live morally clean lives. We will honor Him in everything we do. We will be courageous and stand up for what we believe without a condescending attitude toward those who believe differently than we do. We will be real and honest.
Those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus should follow His teaching closely or stop claiming to follow Him. We can’t afford to be haphazard and half-hearted. We must completely be in or get completely out because undisciplined passive indifference has already hurt the cause of Christ which we purport to cherish. Do we? Do we cherish the Jesus we claim to believe in? To live for? Sometimes others can’t tell by our behaviors.
I pray my daily life makes being a Christian look attractive to others. For Heaven's sake!