Honorable Conduct

Keep your conduct among the [world] honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.—1 Peter 2:12

What you say and do is evidence of our beliefs—it's called conduct. The greatest test of our beliefs is not our conduct (what we say and do) on our best days. It's conduct on those days spattered with inadvertent challenges. Our beliefs are evidenced in how we respond to surprizes, frustrations, difficulties, and trials. These moments reveal our deepest beliefs and are compelling evidence. In these moments, observers discern the congruency of our conduct with the beliefs we profess about Christ. As a result, people witness congruency or incongruency and draw conclusions that inform a case for or against Christ. Simply put, these observers (children, spouses, colleagues, teammates, and friends) are watching to see if we believe what we profess based on our conduct in the challenge.

Peter’s encouragement above is to conduct yourselves honorably. Honorable conduct is congruent with Christian character. The man who lives in this way is free from concern but also powerful in his witness. Since somedays challenging moments are thrust upon you, purify and prepare your heart daily. Then when these moments are thrust upon you, they will catch you by surprise and lessen the message of Christ.

DO THIS: Conduct yourself honorably.

PRAY THIS: God, I confess that unexpected challenges have hurt my witness. Increase my attentiveness so that when surprises arise, my conduct will not poorly reflect your message but rather bring attention to Christ through me.