There are two sides to Christianity – the believing side and the behaving side – they are like two sides of the same coin. The way we behave must show the world what we believe. Thus we need to watch our lives.
You might ask me – but what should we watch? Let me give you an acronym that you can easily remember:
‘WATCH’ – W (Words), A (Attitudes & Actions), T (Thoughts), C (Character) and H (Heart).
Watch your ‘Words’: Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matt 12:34). What kind of words do we speak? You cricket lovers – when your favourite batsman gets out for a duck in a very important match – what are your first words? You house wives – when your helper or your children break your most valuable piece of crockery – what are your first words?
Are your words vain (Job 16:3), irritating (Prob. 15:1), hasty (Prob.29:20), irreverent (Math :13), enticing (Col. 2:4), flattering (1 Thess. 2:5), insincere (2 Pet 2:3), proud (2 Pet 2:18), or are they pleasant (Pro. 16:24), appropriate (Pro. 16:24) gracious (Ecce. 10:12); inspiring (Ecce. 12:11) and comforting (Isaiah 50:4). Eph 4:29 tells us not to let unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, but only that which builds others up according to their need, that it may benefit those who listen. Do our words build people up or cause them to stumble? Watch your ‘Attitudes & Actions’: Our attitudes act as spring boards for various actions. Take the case of Cain where his anger led to murder. But the most wonderful thing I find in this passage is that God is so concerned that He even warns Cain to be careful and to set his attitudes right. If we do not watch the kind of attitudes we develop then we are in danger of committing a wrong action.
Therefore, we must put off our old self which is corrupted by its deceitful desires and be made new in the attitude of our minds and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 2:22 – 5:20). Phil 2:5; and I Peter 4:1 encourages us to develop the attitude of Christ. We must reflect Him in everything that we do and say. Watch your ‘Thoughts’: Prov. 23:7 says ‘as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he’ (KJV). So what we are is the result of what we think. How would you like to have your every thought for the past week flashed on a screen for all your acquaintances, neighbours and church friends to see? You will probably want hide somewhere. The truth is even though we can hide our thoughts from others; God knows all our thoughts (Ps 94:11). We need to watch our thoughts because they determine our character.
Every thought that sinks into our mind marks its contribution, producing the pillars in our character. Paul says in Phil 4: 8 – Finally brothers whatever is true, whatever is noble, what ever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what ever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praise worthy – think about such things. Watch your ‘Character’: What is character? To put it simple, character is what you are in the dark. It is what we do when no one is looking. It is like two jars whose contents look the same but are actually different. When the first jar is turned on its side, vinegar flows out. When the other jar is tipped over, honey comes out of it. The two jars that appeared to be similar revealed their true contents when they were upset. An excellent test of character is the way a person reacts under the pressure of a difficult situation.
What is deep down inside of us will spill out when we are tested, when we are caught off guard or suddenly upset. 1 Cor. 15:33 – Bad company corrupts good character. The general belief is that by looking at one’s friend you can easily determine the character of any person. What kind of company do we keep? The collapse of character always begins on compromise corner. Watch our heart: You may ask – why the heart? The answer is simply because it is the seat of all emotions – it is in our heart that we either harbour hatred or love – evil or good. Luke 6:45 says that the good man brings good things out of the good stored in his heart and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. Pro 27:19 – As water reflects a face so also a man’s heart reflects the man. All that we have just looked at – our words, our attitudes/ actions, our thoughts, our character – all of it depends on what we have stored in our heart.
A change in life & behaviour begins with a change in the heart. That is why we are encouraged in Pro 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life. Luke 12:34 – Where your treasure is there your heart will be also. What do you treasure with all your heart? Is your heart full of devotion to God or has it been displaced by that something else that you treasure be it sports, money, work, music, etc. The challenge of Christian living in today’s world is to reflect Christ in our lives – in everything we are, do, say and think. Does our life spread the fragrance of our devotion to God? Have we given our allegiance to anything other than the Almighty God who created us- who redeemed us? Nothing short of a total commitment to Christ can help us make a Christian difference in our homes, work places, place of study, Church, neighborhood and in society.
Author: Ms. Rebecca Jaichandran is a faculty at Southern Asia Bible College, Bangalore
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