Somebody's Watchin' You

You know, I've always been told by my parents that the way we conduct ourselves as Christians is so important, and one reason is because people are watching.  We may not realize it, but claiming to be a follower of Christ automatically sets us up for scrutiny by others.  They want to see how we react to difficult, unfair or simply every day circumstances.  They want to know if we are truly different than others who don't claim to have a walk with Christ.

I was thinking about this last night as I was going to bed--about the importance of maintaining and demonstrating Godly character even when you feel that you have the right to be upset.  In a way, I feel like times such as this are good, because it really helps to beef up the "character" muscle.  In other words, there are times when we can look at our hurt or angry feelings as an opportunity to grow in our faith.

Ashlyn is almost 8 years old (I can hardly believe that) and her little ears pick up on so many things that we probably don't even think about half the time.  As husband and wife, Jason and I discuss many things that we wouldn't talk about with anybody else.  There are even times when we "vent" to each other about a hurt that we have towards someone else or when we feel that we have been treated in a way that is unfair.  But little ears are listening and little eyes are watching the way we handle such issues.  We are helping to shape the character of our children.  So imagine if our children always heard us talking down about someone or simply complaining all the time...that is probably going to play a huge role in the way they handle difficult circumstances as well.

It doesn't matter if it's about the president or the neighbor next door, my kids are watching, listening and looking up to my words and actions.  I feel a great responsibility to be extra careful of how I react to various situations and people.  The best way to appear to have strong character to my children is to actually have strong character.  How is that produced?  Romans 5:3-5 tells us,

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 

People are inevitably going to do things that either make us upset or that disappoint us.  But one of the greatest lessons my mother always taught me is that we are only responsible for our own actions.  We cannot control others, nor do we have to answer for them, but we can control ourselves, and we will have to answer for our actions.  God will use even the smallest trials to help build character within our own lives, as well as anyone else who might be watching, when we choose to follow His instructions to love Him with all our hearts and then our neighbor as ourselves.