Day 1986 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Matthew 5:16 NIV

If you read my post yesterday, then you probably noticed that I was pretty fired up. Guess what, still there! Please go back and check it out if you didn't see it yesterday. It was a pretty long post, but it's a pretty big problem that needs our attention. Yesterday was the what. Today's the why. We have to do better as Christians. It's honestly just as simple and straightforward as that. We have to do better because there is far too much on the line.

We are not here to win petty arguments or do nothing but voice our own opinions. We're here to win souls and share the truths given to us by our Lord and Savior. Now if you can't tell or aren't sure, there's a huge difference between those two. Sadly, it seems as though there are a few folks calling themselves Christians who are more worried about winning arguments and stirring the pot than doing their part to point others to Christ. So again, we have to do better.

What we need to always keep in the front of our minds is that people are watching what we do and listening to what we say. And I'm not just talking about other Christians. You see, I think we can fall into this mindset where we assume that everyone around us is like us. We can assume that everyone else is a Christian and shares all the same beliefs that we have. We can start thinking that everyone we talk to already understands our faith and sees themselves as Christians too. But that isn't the case. There are millions of people who don't know a thing about Christianity. There are millions who don't share our beliefs or see things through a lens of faith.

So that mindset is a big problem because there are a lot of people outside of our faith who are curious. They are lost in that miserable world of hurting. They're still consumed by their mistakes and wallowing in a miry pit of sin and shame. And they are looking for hope. They are looking for something to keep them going. They're looking for proof that they still matter and they're loved even though they've been led to believe they aren't. They are looking for the peace and freedom that our faith offers. And that's why we need to be focused on reflecting God's light, not our own.

Our faith talks so much about love, acceptance, hope, and mercy. So naturally, anyone who's outside looking in is wanting to see what this Christian thing is all about. They're watching us and listening to us to see just what these followers of Jesus Christ are all about. So what are we telling them? What are our words saying about who Jesus is? What do our actions show them about our faith? These are truly crucial questions because we're here to help win people over to their loving Father. So if we're doing or saying things that don't jive with His message, then we're wrong.

We can't risk that because eternal salvation is on the line. We cannot risk someone outside our faith seeing or hearing something that sends them running away from Jesus because it just doesn't match up what our faith is supposed to be about. I'm honestly worried that some of this nonsense that has permeated our Christian family is turning people off to our faith. And friends, that's the exact opposite of what we're here to do. As I said yesterday, everyone is already surrounded with the anger, arguing, fighting, and negative nonsense that our world is constantly sharing. So if they see us lowering ourselves to that same level of nonsense, then why should they want any part of our faith?

Yesterday I shared a few examples of things that I've seen and heard some inside our faith say in recent days. How can we say that we care about others when we say that their health and well-being isn't our responsibility? How can we say that we're working toward peace when we're posting videos yelling about the latest worldly argument? How can we ever hope to win someone to Christ when we're not speaking or acting any differently than this messed up world we're in?

If we want to do our part and help Him reach others who are still lost and hurting, then we have to be different. We have to do better. We have to stop lowering ourselves to these shameful worldly standards. We have to stop the divisive, hurtful, anger-fueled, and just plain stupid nonsense. That garbage won't help us help Him. Only when we start living from our hearts and not our emotions can we hope to make a difference. Only when we stop trying to make ourselves look or sound good in the latest worldly debate and start sharing the hopeful message of the Gospel can we ever make a dent.

As this verse is reminding us, we're here to shine for Him. We're here to lead by example, by following His example. Not setting our own. Not aiming for this world's. His. His way. His example. His message. Only when we're reflecting His light into the darkness will we make a difference that matters. So as long as we're focused on winning some political or social argument, we're wasting time and potentially turning people away from our faith.

So we better step it up. There will always be things that make us angry. There will always be things in this world that we feel very strongly about. That's good. We should be invested in things. But we should be invested from a Biblical perspective, not a personal one. When we make it personal, then it starts veering away from Him, and that's never the right direction. Again, we're here to win souls not arguments. The world loves to argue, but there's no debating the truth.

Just look to the example that we have in Christ. He didn't go around yelling about the newest debate that was spreading through the cities and towns. He focused on the task at hand of sharing the message that God put Him here to share. He spent His time on this earth pointing others to Heaven by sharing the truth. Did He flip over a few tables to send a message? Sure did. But again, that message was about the seriousness of our faith and the world's sin encroaching on His Holy turf.

I just think we need to stop being so quick to join a side in some worldly fight. There's just something far more important that we should be spending our time fighting. Always remember that people are watching ans listening. And it's up to you and I as Christians to ensure that we're speaking and acting a way that reflects Him and shares His truths. Don't turn someone away from Him because they get the impression that Christianity is nothing more than a group of religious people who are really no different than this broken world. That has and will never be the message we're here to share. Our faith is different, and so we should be too!