Thursday, June 24, 2010

Live Your Christianity

"The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord -- to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book." -- 2 Chronicles 34:31

This afternoon my Mother came home from the doctor's office with quite a tale. It seems that she overheard the doctor cussing his nurses out. Not just one or two curse words, she said. He just gave them -- and his patients -- an earful. He later came into the exam room full of sweet smiles and test results. There was no indication of the anger she'd overheard.

Why am I bringing this up? Because this doctor and I attend the same church and I am appalled that he would treat his employees that way. Maybe they did something horribly wrong. But profanity-laced shouting didn't fix anything. It never does.

It bothers me when I witness Christians trying to live two different lives. There is the Christian life they live at church and with church folks they socialize with. And then there is the boss or worker who has a whole different attitude. I don't understand how a Christian can turn his/her faith on and off like that. I know I can't.

Don't get me wrong. We all sin. We all lose it every now and then. We all make mistakes. Those are momentary lapses that usually make us feel guilty. What I'm talking about is a pattern that says the person doesn't live his Christianity in his daily life.

Well, that's not you. I agree. Most of us are not doctors and we don't scream profanity at our nurses. But do you gossip around the breakroom table every afternoon? Do you pad your receipts "because everyone does it"? Do you help yourself to office supplies because no one will know? Do you take credit for something when it wasn't really your idea? Do you tell yourself that "stealing" a customer is just business?

We aren't Christians only on Sunday. It doesn't work that way. When Jesus enters our lives, we change. We become new. That means we live differently. If you're a Christian, people should know it from your actions and not just your words. And if they don't? Maybe you should spend a little more time alone with God and ask Him to show you a different path.