Be Careful How You Live

Rachel At The Window

EVERY word we say, every action we take, every decision we make, and whatever we do will have an impact on others. In a moment of time, we can easily bless others and we can just as easily hurt others.

"So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.  Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.  Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,  singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.  And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." From Ephesians 5 (NLT)

Think of our granddaughter at the window of the camp. When I snapped this photo, she was looking intently at her grandfather, her uncle, and two of her brothers outside on the staging. She could see every move they made and she could hear every word they said as they nailed siding onto our building. They may not have realized that she was even standing there. But there she stood -- fascinated, interested, and impressionable. In those moments, those four guys were in a place where they would validate her admiration and trust or wound her heart by the way they talked and behaved.

It is sobering to me that God has given me great opportunities and continuing responsibilities to represent Him before every person that crosses my path, lives in our home, or comes into contact with me anywhere and at any time. He has given me a tall order to be very careful how I live. He is going to hold me accountable for every word, every deed, and every decision. (You, too).

Family and friends, He is asking us to do the impossible. We are sinners. We can mess things up big time, can't we? We can find ourselves repenting, apologizing, and asking forgiveness time and again. The only way we can avoid living like fools is to rely totally on the Lord for the wisdom and strength to be the people that He created us to be.

Let's think about this: the next time one of us is tempted to do or say something foolish, what if we think of the young girl in the window? What if we consider the impact we will make on someone like her -- or on another loved one or a friend or neighbor? And even more than that, let's turn our hearts to the Lord and ask HIM to help us do and say the right thing for His name's sake. 

Yes! Let's be careful how we live.