Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6 NLT)
Have you ever known someone who complained a lot? Maybe that person is you or maybe a close family member. That person may have been a very hard worker, devout Christian, tried to help many people. But decades after they were gone the only thing that is remembered is the constant complaining. Even the person talking about the complaining is now remembered as a constant complainer. What do we all know about that first generation of Hebrews that left Egypt? They “murmured” which is old King James language for complaining. “Then, I will finally put an end to the people’s murmuring and complaining against you.” (Numbers 17:5 NLT)Those poor Hebrews had to endure slavery, leave their homes, and spent 40 years (walking around in shoes that would not wear out) complaining. Just before Paul talks about how to talk he wrote, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” (Colossians 4:2 NLT) Imagine how the story would have been different if that had been thankful. Most likely they would have all been allowed to see the Promised Land instead of dying in the desert.
When I was young, one day I was upset about something trivial. I cannot remember what it was. I went to one of my friends in the church complaining and miserable. She was joyful, beautiful, well liked and respected by everyone. Much to my surprise she did not address my problem but instead told me that I needed to conduct myself with joy so that when others saw me they would see Jesus and not my problem. She smiled at me turned on her heel and headed into the event. Of course, I was even more upset (for a second) and embarrassed but instantly I knew she was right. I sucked up my attitude and headed in with a smile. I never forgot that lesson.
My friend recruited a non-complainer that day. If we all do that, pretty soon they will have no one to complain to. They will have to take it up with God who is the only one that can really help us feel better.
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven. (Matthew 5:16 KJV)
Our faith that Jesus bestows on us when we become believers will give us what we need to “be gracious and attractive” in conversation. God gives us self-discipline. We can use it to control what comes out of our mouths.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)
We grow up in church and think that everyone around us is believers. But even some of those in church may not yet be true believers. They may be going out of habit. The children will decide if they want to be part of your church by how we all act.
We have made decisions before if a church was worth attending in a new town based on how welcome we felt by the members before we ever got to church. We were already believers but what if we were not? That could have been a lost opportunity to save a soul just because a person did not want to be friendly, judge us, or complained too much. You just don’t know how much influence each one of us has.
We have visited countless churches all across the United States. Some had only a few very old people still attending. It makes one wonder what happened to all the young people. We have attended churches thriving with mostly millennials. They seemed like a group of new believers that learned about Jesus when they grew up. Some parents withhold spiritually training to purposefully let their kids decide their religion upon maturity. So we cannot assume that everyone knows the gospel even if they grew up in a Bible belt community. They may not understand the fullness of the gospel. The best way to show them is to let them see you live with joy.
