A Christian Example 

   “When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world.”  C. S. Lewis 

   The world does not see the piety we might practice on Sundays in the safety of the pews of our churches.  They don’t hear the readings, the prayers, or the hymns.  What they see and hear is how we live our lives among them.  It is there that we must be an example of Christian behavior.

   When those of the world see someone who claims to be a faithful believer acting in the ways of the world, they consider Christians to be hypocrites and liars.  They use the bad example to disdain all believers and God Himself.  If the one they see acting in such a manner is me, I am betraying my Lord through my actions.

   There’s a gospel song that tells us how we should act.  It’s called “They’ll know We Are Christians by Our Love.”  But the opposite is also true, they will know we are liars by our hatred and biases; without love we do not have Christ within us.  And that love must be evident in all we do.  We can’t be loving in church and cursing others in our daily life.

   C. S. Lewis also wrote, “If you are thinking of becoming a Christian I warn you, you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all.”  Christianity is not a part-time affair; it is a lifelong devotion to God and His will.  It must be our guide at all times, not just in church on Sunday.

   We are called to be evangelists, to spread the good news.  But we can’t do that if we live in a worldly manner.  We must keep in mind that we are in the world but not of the world.  We will sometimes be hated for our faith, we may face persecution for it, but we can never deny it.  To do so is to deny Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us.