Verse 7-8 "In everyting set them an example by doing what is good... so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."
I read this a number of times thinking it was a very powerful statement until it hit me just how powerful it really is.
As Christians we are called to live good lives, with God being the one that decides what is good. So we strive to live the way that God wants us to, so that no one can say anything bad about us.
Did you catch that? You need to live a good life because we don't want anyone saying anything bad about us... US!
Christians are connected. If one Christian says or does something stupid in the name of God then all Christians are fair game to be pointed at. Many people hear something that was written or said in God's name and walk away from both God and the church, thinking the two are the same, and they never come back to either.
We are in this together, we succeed together and we fail together. Each of us is as important as the next. Churches have been destroyed by one person, or two people... usually in a bed.
It is an awesome responsibility to be a Christian, to bear the image of God... it could be an impossible burden, if we had to do it alone. Which we don't!
God is with us every step of the way, to guide and forgive us when (not if) we make mistakes. How we act after our mistakes is what's so important. My colleague Tim Jahn hit the nail on the head when he wrote "I think as Christians, we can teach people a lot more about Jesus by how we act when we find out we’re wrong, than how we act when we’re convinced we’re right."
Admit when you're wrong, learn from your mistakes, and always do what is good.
I want to finish this blog by saying I will promise to try if you promise to try, because what you do effects me and what I do effects you, but I hear Yoda in the back of my head saying "Do or do not, there is no try." So there goes my ending.
So instead I'll just quote Larry the Cable Guy: "Git-R-Done."
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