“So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, ‘We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” (Acts 6:11 NLT)
The quality of Stephen’s life and the power of his words so convicted the Jews that they had to bribe men to lie about him in order to build a case against him. Is that what someone would need to do in order to make an accusation about you or me? I pray that would be the case, but how do we know for sure?
Status or reputation is a hard thing to gauge in this day and time. Public news channels, social media and other internet outlets can build a case against almost anyone, making false claims and dropping innuendos that purposely mislead people to believe lies about someone. Yes, of course, we expect it when it’s a politician, but it’s far more widespread than that.
What we say or “imply” about one another through texts or through our Facebook page comments can build up or tear down someone with a few keystrokes. But what is says about the author of those comments is much more important than what it says about the person about whom the comments were written. A person of character tells the truth, a person without character tells lies.
Which are you? Which am I? The practices of our life – how we treat others, especially those with whom we live, how we conduct our business transactions, how we prioritize our day, how much time we devote to God’s Word and prayer and contemplating the implications of those words to our life, how we care for our body – in short, how we live out our commitment to Christ each day is far more important and valuable than what we say about our own profession of faith.
Mark Driscoll wrote: “Christianity is about what you practice, not just what you profess.” It makes little difference how powerful the words of my mouth or the flattering words of our admirers, the only opinion of us that matters is that of our Lord. What does Jesus think about my commitment to Him? Ultimately, He’s the only One before whom we’ll stand to give an account of our lives. He will be our only Judge, not the opinions of those who tickle our ears with their kind words.
Who are you trying to please with your “Christian” faith? Your friends and “admirers,” or your Lord? And please don’t hear what I’m not saying. It’s well and good to have friends to whom you can give positive input regarding their faith walk and from whom you can receive such feedback. But if it’s always positive and no one ever dares confront you with a glaring inconsistency in your walk, of what value is their friendship?
Love confronts when we misstep! Love calls our bluff when we’re walking the edge of moral failure! Love cares enough to tell us the truth, risking our friendship for the health of our walk with God and others. Profession is good and needs to be made, but practice puts power in our profession. It gives credence to our credentials as a person of God.
Please, we must never rest on the laurels of our reputation or upon the accolades of man. Our goal is to please our Master and get our input as to how we’re doing with that, from Him. He will reward us or correct us.
We live to an audience of One. Only His opinion matters and only He can give validity to whether what we profess is being practiced.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 