Walk the Talk

Walk The Talk
By Patricia Ang

How do we lead a Christian Life? Do we behave as Christians in our workplace, with our family and friends, in fellowship with our fellow church members in the various ministries? Do we apply what we read in the bible and apply in practice in our daily lives? This year, I have heard and personally come across several incidents of people of the same religion that hardly walk the talk yet they say they are devoted Christians.

On surface, these are very religious people. They attend mass and they are active in the various church ministries. However the way they handle matters in their daily lives, the way they behave and talk, at times one wonders whether what they do, is it for solely for fame and glory, and are they conscious of their behaviors? We tend to lose respect and trust in these people who behave in such manner. It can be also quite discouraging as these people are either our colleagues or our friends. One of my friends told me that we can’t tell them how to lead their lives as they made a choice in leading their lives. The only thing we can do is just to pray for them. That our Lord may open their eyes to the lives they are leading, open their hearts and ears to what our Lord has to say to them.

If we as fellow brothers and sisters can’t walk the talk, then how can we grow in unity in the respective ministries to serve the Lord and grow to serve him in his glory? Some of us engage in idle talk, some of us subject ourselves to scandals and groundless rumors, some are ignorant about it, yet some of us persist in doing that so as to inflate our ego. As a result this has created tension and misunderstanding in respective ministries.

We are Christ’s ambassadors and God is using us to speak to each of you. It is important that Christians act and speak so that we can glorify our Lord. When you give your word, keep it. If you make a commitment, honour it. If you take on an obligation, fulfill it. Our honesty and reliability should be so evident that we can be trusted for any contract we make. What better testimony could be said of a believer than this: “He gave this word, that’s good enough for me.” And if non Christians can trust us in business matters, they are more likely to believe us when we speak about the Gospel.

Have you encountered situations when our good intentions are being misunderstood? They are times we just feel it’s not worth the effort, but as mentioned in (1 Peter 4:8-10) “Love each other deeply, because loves covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to another without grumbling. Each one of us should use whatever gift we have received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

We are God’s children and we ought to pray as Christ did. Praying for one another is essential, for praying and ministry brings healing, love, sharing, growth, unity and encouragement. We pray for our repentance, for ourselves to grow to be more like Christ each day. We pray to receive God’s mercy, his healing touch and forgiveness as we forgive those who have hurt us intentionally or unintentionally with their words and deeds. Pray for each other as we grow in fellowship and in maturity as we seek his eternal kingdom.

Brothers and Sisters, let’s walk the talk. Let’s apply what we learn in our lives. Sometimes it takes a third party to see what we are doing in our lives, yet it also takes courage to speak up. Hence if we do encounter such people, who out of good intentions, tell us what we are doing wrong in our lives, let us listen with humility and try to repent. Let us learn and grow together and by all our actions, may we seek and serve the Lord.