2 Corinthians 10:10-11(NLT)
“10 For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” 11 Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away.”
The watering down of the gospel is a recurring topic of conversation among believers these days. It’s said that people only want to hear flowery words float around their ears. They don’t want to hear anything about the consequences of sinful behavior, and they don’t want to be chastised for neglecting to fulfill their obligation to the call of Christ. We hear it all the time that folks don’t really care about being taught the gospel, they just want to be entertained. In similar fashion, folks were clapping back at the Apostle Paul. People living during Paul’s day didn’t have the internet, newspapers, or the convenience of book-sized bibles they could read. Paul wrote letters to school the churches in the ways of Christ, and if I may use the urban vernacular, he didn’t put no cut on it. He spoke like it was.
Because Paul didn’t bow down to their comfort levels, folks began to say that he talked big, but he only did it because he wasn’t there with them in person to back it up. They thought he would be less forceful if he was actually in their faces. Paul made it clear that he was the same person whether he was with them or when no one was looking.
A lot of people think their lives, as well as their behavior, can be compartmentalized or broken up into small pieces…one part is work, then family life, then there’s friends, then church/spiritual life…and then there’s the part that many of us think no one sees. That’s the secretive side of us. Jesus Christ made it very plain in Luke 8:17 that what we do in the dark will come to the light. Nothing stays hidden for long. We can’t be everything to everybody, but we also shouldn’t be one person to some people and another person to others. In Romans 12:1, God tells us to bring every part of us to Him and present it as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable. He wants all of us, and this means that we’ve got to expose that secret part to the light of Christ, so that it can be transformed.
Integrity means that you’re the same person with everybody, that you’re authentic and true to your highest self in Christ when no one is looking. I remember seeing a woman at the drugstore with her young daughter, and at first glance, she seemed to be a dutiful and attentive parent. Waiting in line to purchase something, I watched her little girl stuff her pockets with all sorts of candy. It was comical at first. Her mother was paying for her merchandise, and the little girl, no more than three, was trying to be sneaky so her mother wouldn’t know she’d pile her pockets with sweets. Before she finished at the counter, her mother recognized what the little one had done, but she didn’t make her put the candy back, and she didn’t pay for it. Very matter of factly, the mother took hold of her little girl’s hand and they both walked out of the store. I thought to myself, “Now what did she just teach her child?!” At that moment, she could’ve taught her what not to do, even at that young age.
What we do in the moments when we think no one is looking will tell the truth about what we believe and who we are. No matter what part of our lives we’re dealing with, our responsibility as believers is to honor God fully and completely by living with integrity.
The Apostle Paul wrote letters to the church in Corinth that taught love and discipline, and he encouraged everyone to be like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He addressed the accusers by assuring them of his integrity. His message was not smothered by appeasement and double talk, but it was backed by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was not a double-minded person that was unstable in all his ways. He presented himself as the same person always. He walked in integrity before God, regardless of who was or was not looking. We must do the same.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Who Are You When No One Else Is Looking?” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.