"Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone." Colossians 2:6
Whoa! If we let that one sink in, it can hit us right where we live! As believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to emulate him in every aspect of our lives. This means in our daily conversations and correspondence with others. What we say and do speaks volumes about who we are and who we belong to.
Many years ago, when I was a young mom, I had invited my mother up from Knoxville to go to a Christian Women's luncheon to hear Kay Arthur. We entered the banquet hall, which was abuzz with the chattering of several hundred women. We were looking for a place to sit. We started to sit down at a table when one of the women loudly and rudely declared that she was saving those places for her friends. She was not nice about it at all. Her behavior made me question if she was even a Christian. Not long after that, my husband and I were looking for a church home. This lady was one of the first people I saw when I entered the church. Needless to say, I didn't have a warm, fuzzy feeling about it. Although she was very nice to me then, and I'm sure she did not remember the experience, I never had any respect for her or her Christian walk.
I wonder how many times my careless words and foolish acts have caused someone to question my walk with the Lord? Even though I may have asked forgiveness for them, have I been branded like I branded the woman who treated me poorly? I don't want that to ever be the case. I believe that we need to be very careful about our words. I know it can be frustrating to wait for a long time on a meal in a restaurant, or easy to get annoyed with a slow cashier at the store, but heaven forbid that we cut that person with our tongues. It makes me shudder when I hear that restaurant workers dread Sundays, because they say the rudest people are the ones who just got out of church. That is very sad!
Let's be an encouragement to others with our words. Be kind to one another. Let's have the right response for everyone, so that we honor our Savior.
Pam Archer, Director
Women's Ministry
