So that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. (1 Thess. 4:12)
Every day we get up and go through life making decisions that will have some sort of consequences. Some choices are not that significant—deciding what to wear or to eat—while other choices can have a lasting impact. Every day we face circumstances and must decide how to respond. Whether it’s a demanding boss, the driver who cuts us off, or the coworker who offends, how we respond speaks volumes to who we are on the inside.
While we cannot control circumstances that come our way, we can control how we respond. However, those decisions are best made out of a desire to live a life that pleases God. God deeply wants to be part of our daily walk because our relationship with him affects our choices and thus determines how we live. Jesus came to make us children of God not just so we can go to heaven, but also to enable us to live as light in a dark and sinful world.
By the shed blood of Jesus, God brought us into union with him through faith. As we make choices that honor him, he transforms us into the likeness of the Lord Jesus. When his life is lived out in our lives through the Holy Spirit, our spiritual and moral fiber is changed, and we will “win the respect of outsiders” to the glory of God.
Let your inner holiness shine through your outward choices.
Scott Simmons serves as lead pastor of Kernersville Wesleyan Church (NC). He previously served The Wesleyan Church as director of youth ministries.
© 2022 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
