Daily Devotional for Tuesday, October 6
The Priority
“Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed,” 2 Corinthians 6:3.
Sometimes, when the kids would leave home, my wife would instruct them, “Remember who you belong to.” She said it and often remarked that her mother had said the same thing to her. She did not want the children to go out into the world and bring shame and discredit on the family by their poor conduct.
Sometimes, God’s children need to remember that instruction. We are God’s ambassadors to a lost and dying world. We are sent to be His representatives, to execute His instructions, and to deliver His message. When people see us, we are what they will see and think of God.
As we see later in this passage, in verses 7-9, Paul gave some instructions and guidelines to the Corinthians on just what “giving no offence” (verse 3) meant. There is no list of bad things, but we can assume simply not having the positive traits Paul mentioned is, by default, bad.
So, what is the point? We must remember who we belong to when we go out into the world. People will assume that how we conduct ourselves is how Jesus and the Father expect us to be. It is very simple. If we are mean and hateful, people think God is as well. What about those who behave like Jesus? That matters, but the sad truth is that people notice the bad far more than the good. I have no real data for this, but I would not be shocked if people needed ten good examples to compensate for one bad one.
It takes all of us to make God’s love seem like the norm. As long as haters outnumber the Christlike, people will not properly understand the true nature of God.
Just a Thought
Remember to whom you belong and try not to bring shame on Him when you are out doing your business in the world.
Wally Fry