Refer to STEP 11: I made a commitment to nurture my relationship with the Lord, asking Him to reveal His will to me and to provide me with the power to carry it out.
You’re a witness for the Lord in everything you do—either positively or negatively, regardless of whether you like it or not. That’s just the way it is. Your life is a witness, and it either attracts people to the Lord or pushes them away from Him.
For many Christians, this is intimidating, and they become Christian automatons who stop living life as it’s meant to be lived—joyfully and spontaneously. They cease being free and become legalistic, punctiliously finding fault with those who don’t live life like they do—straight-laced, sober, and sad. They are neither a joy to themselves nor to the Lord. You know the type of person I’m describing, don’t you? The church is filled with them. Their mean-spiritedness, which they wear proudly as a virtue, hurts everyone they touch.
On the opposite spectrum are those who say, “I’m saved, so I can do anything I want.” And they do. Embracing a licentious lifestyle, these Christians act like those who don’t have a relationship with the Lord. Casting aside restraint because they’re “covered,” they do whatever seems right in their own eyes, regardless of the consequences and whom it hurts. The church has its fair share of this type as well.
Both groups witness for the Lord by their lifestyles everyday. The Scriptures call these people carnal Christians, and the fruit of their lives doesn’t attract people to Christ. It repulses them, as it should. The fruits of legalism are pride, faultfinding, backbiting, hatred, arrogance and by far the worst, an acerbic tongue. The fruits of “Whoopee” are sexual immorality, addiction, consumptive materialism, gluttony, and greed.
If you fall into either of these groups, there’s hope. God wants more for your life than wasting it as a self-righteous bigot or a lascivious philanderer. The way to change is easy but doing the consistent work necessary to be the man or woman Christ intended you to be isn’t.
More about this tomorrow.
