Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God.
Philippians 2: 14-15 The Message
When our Christian witness is finally evaluated, what may make the greatest impact is not what we did, but our attitude in doing it. Here, Paul encourages the Christians in Philippi to be cheerful and amenable. He advises them to refrain from complaining, whining, and bickering.
Why? Apparently complaining about things was commonplace in Paul’s world, and he saw their potential positive attitude as an opportunity to bear witness to Jesus Christ. In an unsatisfied, bitter, corrupt, and polluted society, Christians could bring a much-needed breath of fresh air.
It is humbling to realize how much things are the same in our modern world. People still love to complain, and gripe. Some people are negative and unhappy, and almost seem to thrive on bringing others down to that same negative level. Are your conversations around the good things that the Lord has done in your life? Or do you converse about all the sad and bad things that are going on around you and in the world. It is so easy to focus on the negative, and not the blessings which are around us, everywhere we look.
We have the same window of opportunity as the Philippians. We, too, can be a breath of fresh air. It starts with a positive attitude. Let compliments rather than complaints define you. While others are complaining and disgruntled with life, our positive, faith-filled attitude may cause non-believers to become very curious about our faith. Most people are repelled by the negative, and drawn to the positive…. Thus, being cheerful and faithful can be one of our greatest opportunities to witness.
Like the Philippians, we can provide to the world a glimpse of good living, and the living God: Jesus Christ. May it be so.
Prayer
Ever-faithful God,
I look to You with awe and amazement for all the wonderful things You have given to me. When the world wants to teach me how to be in conflict, guide me to resist the temptation. I do not want to fall into that negative trap. Lord, I want to be that positive person, faithful to You, so that when others around me, they want to seek the source of my joy. I pray this prayer in the name of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
