This week I was reading on Philippians and came across this verse:

And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

Philippians 1:14 (ESV)

It is interesting to see who Paul’s example encourage many believers in Rome to speak the word without fear. It makes me think about how we can serve God not only in the things we do but also in the example we set for other believers to follow.

In the same lines, we also need to be careful not to set a bad example. Just as our energy and boldness for Christ can be of big encouragement, so our indifference and complaints are contagious in a destructive manner. This reminded me of an occasion when an activity went south because of my bad example:

In the summer of 2013, all summer staff at Living Waters Bible Camp went to the “World Religions In America” trip to Chicago. When the trip was over, the Camp Director asked us to give him feedback about the trip. I was first to speak and commented on the things I liked, but I also decided to mention all the things that went wrong with the trip. After I was done, I noticed how all the other summer staff started also focusing on the negative aspects of the trip. I realized how I was the one that set the bad mood on the activity on how that had an impact on the perception of everyone else.

We should not forget that people are following our example. Maybe you are the leader of your family or a ministry. Or maybe you are the first one to speak or act in a situation or activity. Let’s be aware of the big impact we can have on other people and use it to honor and glorify God.

 

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