Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3-4)
As I was meditating on this passage this morning, it occurred to me that these words might be the key to the apparent disappearance of man’s moral compass.
“I don’t care what people think of me”. How often have you heard or even spoken those words? It is a common and acceptable (even encouraged) attitude these days to be indifferent to what others think of us. It hasn’t always been so. There was a time when it was important to us that others regard us as a person of character. A time when one’s reputation was a cherished possession. Many business deals were sealed by a handshake because a man’s word was his bond.
Just to be clear, I am not talking here about being “man pleasers”, quite the opposite. I am talking about being image bearers.
Isn’t that what King Solomon is saying in the above Proverb? The words “bind” and “write ” imply a permanence; a joining together, making fast, engraving. As Christ followers, we are to have a pattern of living that reflects the image of Christ. Christ who is gentle and kind (Matthew 11:29). Christ who is Truth (John 14:6). And, as Solomon says, when we make His life, His nature, our pattern, we will not only find favor with God but with man as well.
As Christians we must always be mindful that when we took the name of Christ, we became, to the eyes of the world, a reflection of Him. As the scriptures put it, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Pause and think for a minute about the implications and gravity of what that means.
My final thought on the subject: [In Christ] It is not what I do that determines who I am, rather it is who I am that determines what I do.
Sandra
