By Guest Writer, Pam Oglesby
As a Christian, what message do you show others? I am not particularly talking about spoken words, although that is important too. So let me tell you a story.
My neighbor and her daughter stopped by my house yesterday to visit. The woman said to me, “I can tell your leg hurts as you are moving it around so much.” Her 8-year-old daughter spends time with me occasionally and she had told her mother she noticed sometimes my leg was still and sometimes it was not. The little girl thought that me moving my leg meant it hurt and she was right. I had never told her that I moved it because of pain, as I was doing that subconsciously, but she noticed it anyway.
So, if an 8-year-old picked up that kind of information, what else do we show others without realizing it? I really started thinking about that.
It could be a frown while thinking of a problem, or even a scowl. Maybe we are so caught up in thought that we quickly greet someone with a curt “hello” instead of a friendly one — or maybe no greeting at all. What if we keep our arms folded in front of our bodies when we’re around people? Does that subconsciously say, “Stay away from me?”
What does the Bible say about greeting others? What does it say about our actions?
1 Peter 5:14 — Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 — Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
John 15:12 — This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Matthew 5:16 — In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
These verses tell me that being a Christian means loving others, greeting others with joy, and to perform good deeds. Our actions are observed by others and they may notice something when you are not aware of them doing so.
So, today, think about your actions and your re-actions when around other people. I hope people look at me and see a Christian.