Proverbs 16:24 (NLT)
“Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”
Part of being a Christian is leaving a witness of the Kingdom we represent. Colossians 1:13(NLT) tells us, “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” Jesus Christ is our King. 2Corinthians 5:20 tells us that we are his ambassadors, because God is making His appeal through us. Every time that we tell people to turn their lives over to Christ and come back to God, we are speaking for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We may not realize it, but there’s a person that God wants to come to Him, and this person is in our environment. We may not know him or her, but their eyes are on us. They have perceived that we’re different but haven’t quite put their fingers on how we’re different. So, they are watching. God has included us in this person’s destiny. The light of Christ that is in us is destined to illuminate the way for him or her to come to God.
Hearing a sermon isn’t the only method of leading a person to Christ. Many times, it is a series of events that leads them to him. Something that you and I may say or do is often one of those events. We never know who is watching us, and we never know how our light will impact their lives. This is why God tells us in His Word how we must govern ourselves. As His children, He expects us to show forth His love and to show respect for Him, ourselves, and others wherever we go. This is sometimes lost with many of Christian women.
Even though we go to church, listen to praise songs, and speak in tongues, some of us are notorious for being impatient, mean-spirited, and disrespectful. This is not the way God’s people should behave. Colossians 3:12(NLT) says, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” We should show Godly love even during those times when we might not feel like it. We must always remember that a kind word can change the course of someone’s life forever.
God commands us to restrain ourselves to the boundaries of His love. This means that we don’t gossip or spread rumors. We don’t render an unkind word or deed simply because one has been rendered towards us. Instead, we remain steadfast in Godliness because we understand the importance of discretion and self-control.
God blesses us for allowing our lights to shine, because this gives Him the glory He so richly deserves. He rewards us in the most wonderful ways when we practice Godliness when we think no one is looking. As women of God, we don’t have to talk about how saved or Godly we are. People will perceive it by the way we live. I worked on a project a while back, and to my surprise, a well-known community leader said that he had confidence in my ability. He said many people had told him that I was a good person and highly dependable. I thanked God for His favor, and for helping me to know His Word and live by it.
A young woman told me the other day that a young man asked her if she uses profanity. She told him that she didn’t. He then proceeded to say he noticed in their short time of knowing each other that he had never heard her say a curse word. Again, this is just another example of how our behavior and words can have an impact, and we don’t realize it. Throughout our lives, we will come to see that living by the example of Jesus Christ is what makes all the difference. If we will line up our thoughts, words, and actions to mirror his example, we will always leave a person better off for coming into our presence than they were before. Our lives will be a witness, and God will reward us as we let our light shine bright and illuminate the path to Christ for others. ■
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.
“Someone’s Watching Your Shine”, written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!