Actions Speak Louder Than Words. Especially When You Aren't Saying Anything.

Today, as I came home from work my heart was a little bit heavier.
You see, today I met a woman while I was sweeping up the dining room at CiCi's. She and her son were the only people left in there and so I was in the process of flipping chairs and sweeping away the day when she walks by and says, "You're working hard, I hope those Liberty kids don't come in here and ruin it for you." I chuckled thinking she was exaggerating and hoping/praying/begging that she was a Christian and didn't really dislike LU. After all that our conversation went like this:
Me: "Yeah, that would be unfortunate. I don't think they'd mess it up though."
Her: "Oh, honey, those are the most inconsiderate group of college kids I've ever encountered they'd probably take down your chairs and dirty your clean floors."
Me: " Well some of them maybe, but I don't know that they're all that bad. Some of them are pretty nice, don't you think?"
Her: "Nope. I have never once met a Liberty student that wasn't rude."
Me *dumbfounded* *goes back to sweeping while trying not to cry because this woman hasn't experienced Christ's love through his very body that lives next door to her. A body that should be 12,000 strong loving on her showing her she's valuable, and yet she has been left with a bad taste in her mouth that may never be changed.

Dearest fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not how it should be! To echo Paul's words to the Ephesians (4:20-24) "But that is not how you learned Christ! assuming you were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off the old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." When we're found in Christ we must leave behind our old selves, things such as pride, lust, lies, selfishness, greed, all these things are to no longer be a part of who we are. We should be new creations in him, full of love and ready to give that love to others no matter what the cost. And this type of love should be what comes across to people in every single action that we take. I bet the LU students that left a bad taste in her mouth have no idea that whatever they were doing was causing a stumbling block for this woman, because I doubt they were making a conscious effort to do everything they did for the glory of the Lord. But everything we do, every action we make, someone sees it and is impacted by it- either for God's glory or not. Now, I also would bet that this woman HAS encountered many a good Christian LU student, BUT she didn't know it. Why? Because we keep our mouths shut. I'll do something nice for you, but I won't tell you I did it in Christ's name and because God loves you and I wanted to show you that. Yeah, I'll buy the coffee for the person behind me in line, but I won't tell her it's because God has blessed me and I want to pass it on to her and that God loves her too. You see, when we keep our mouths shut we miss out on a huge opportunity to show people that our God is not only worth sacrificing for, but he's worth speaking up about.
Someone once said, "Proclaim the gospel, and if necessary use words." And while I totally agree with this statement's point that we should proclaim the gospel by the way that we live, I think it misses the mark when it says only use words if necessary, because that's like telling a newscaster to tell the news without using words. Words are powerful and when our actions back them up they're even more powerful.
You hold more influence in people's lives than you probably realize, and if you wear the name of Christ, people will be watching the way you walk. "Be careful then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the most use of the time for the days are evil."(Eph 5:15-16) Put thought into how you will show Christ today, think about how your actions impact others for Christ. Be aware that everything you do reflects the God you serve and be willing to answer for why you live that way. Don't hide it and wait for someone to ask why you just bought them lunch, or held the door for them, or smiled at them; tell them! Bless them in God's name. Don't let people just think that you're a normal good person, let them know that you're a sinner changed by the amazing grace of God!
Let your actions and words speak loudly for the God who gave his Son to save us!