See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. – Ephesians 5:15
Read Ephesians 5:14-21.
We need to guard against carelessness in dress, speech, business relationships, and at home. John G. Paton, the great missionary to the New Hebrides, tells in his autobiography of his early years in Scotland. The whole family lived in a cottage made up of a large kitchen-workshop, a small closet-like room, and a bedroom that accommodated the entire family. Paton recalls that his father would work in the kitchen-workshop and then, three times a day after meals, go into the little closet. The rest of the family knew that when the closet door was closed, Father was kneeling down and praying for them. There were eleven children and at the Judgment Seat every one of them will stand at the mention of their parents and call them blessed. That’s what I’m getting at. It wasn’t a formal household. You can’t be very formal with thirteen people in two rooms! But it was a God-fearing, God-honoring, prayer-filled, courtesy-extending home. Don’t put down your spouse in public—even under the guise of a joke. Don’t be rude to a clerk or a waitress. Don’t drive like you own the road.
Just as there is a difference between contemporaneity and worldliness, there also is a difference between informality and carelessness. In our day we don’t stand on ceremony as we used to, and I’m glad. But there is a thin line between informality and Christian courtesy. Someone has said that courtesy is love in work clothes. I like that! There is such a thing as good taste and the watchful observance of the rights of others. Don’t you agree? Brashness will turn off a person; friendliness will win him.
Small thought here. Remember that as a Christian you are always on duty for your Lord. There is never a time when what you do doesn’t matter. This devotional was written by Dr. Robert A. Cook. You can subscribe to his free email articles at Walk With The King Today and listen to his Spirit-filled 15-minute messages. Used with written permission.
