By David ReayTuesday 25 Oct 2022LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. (NLT)
Sometimes Christians can come across as pit bull terriers: ferociously defending their turf, ready to fight to the death against whatever enemy presents itself. Not a good look, and not designed to win people to the person of Jesus. Granted we don’t have to become easy going Labradors, we do need to watch how we act towards the world at large.
In this passage, Paul urges us to be gracious and attractive in our conversation. Not eager and willing to pounce on what we see wrong with others, but aware that we have received grace and want to pass that grace on. There is no excuse for rudeness, or strident proclamation of how right we are and how wrong everybody else is.
We can begin by facing our own failings: we are no better than the worst sinners in the world in the sight of God. The only difference is that we have embraced the mercy of Jesus. This helps us avoid moral superiority and arrogance. And then we face the other person’s humanness. We refuse to dehumanise them or reduce them to a negative stereotype. We try to see the best in them, albeit not idealising them.
We become more decent and civil towards one another when we get off our soap boxes and realise Jesus is not encountered in loud, argumentative disputation. He is encountered in good works, kind words. His grace is best conveyed by those who know just how much they need that grace.
Blessings
David