Christian Living

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The Witness Test
By Chaplain Dan Langerock

The story is told of a man who was stopped behind a woman driver at a signal. The woman was not going ahead when she should, so the man was yelling obscenities and making a fool of himself because of her behavior

A policeman came along who saw all this behavior, and arrested him. The man asked, “You can’t arrest me, I haven’t done anything wrong”. The policeman put him in jail for two hours anyway. When he got out later, the policeman explained, “ I saw your behavior and said to myself there was nothing I could do about it because you hadn’t broken the law. But then, I saw the Jesus bumper sticker on your car and started thinking maybe the car was stolen because a Christian wouldn’t act like this

We all make mistakes in our lives and the world is watching as we do them. Here are a few questions to keep in mind as you go about your daily life:


1) Do you disregard others’ needs when you are looking for a parking place, perhaps snatching the space from another driver in a rude way?

2) Are you mindful of pedestrians? Do you rev your motor in impatience when they are crossing in front of you? Do you cross in front of them before they are all the way to the curb?

3) Do you use coarse language to fit in with others, telling dirty jokes perhaps? When you are around, do others stop telling dirty stories out of respect for your beliefs?

4) Do you dabble in astrology, gambling, playing lottery tickets, or other practices that are questionable? Can others tell you are a Christian by how you use your money?

5) What kind of magazines do you look at in the store when you are shopping?

6) Does your faith carry over into the rest of the week after Sunday, and does it show?

7) How do you treat your pets? If you get angry at them, what does it show about you?

8) Do you demean your spouse, girlfriend, children or other family members whether they are around or not? What are you projecting about what you believe with these attitudes?

9) How do you treat your family when you are angry? Do you ridicule them, use abuse of any kind, etc.

10) What would your friends and family say about you if they were being honest regarding your personality and other factors?

11) What kind of entertainment do you watch, either on TV or movies? Can the world see you are a Christian by what you watch?

12) Are you consistent in what you say? Is there integrity in your life? Can you be trusted by your boss to be to work on time, to handle money honestly, etc?

13) Do you need to say you are a Christian, or is it evident by your lifestyle? Is it a lifestyle they are drawn to or are they glad they are not a Christian?

14) When someone works for you as a gardener or any service rendered to you, how do you treat that person? Do you try to get the price down so much they regret having taken the job? Do you keep adding more work with little or no compensation for it?

15) If you are an employer, are your employees glad they work for you? How do you treat your employees? If you and your spouse own the business together, do employees have to pick sides when you disagree? How do you treat your customers as a Christian? What message are you telling your employees in the way you conduct your business?

16) What does your apparel say about you? Does it promote a questionable group, Las Vegas, a casino, or alcoholic beverages.

17) If you collect cans and bottles for recycling, what do they say about you? Do you include beer cans in your collecting? You may not drink, but it looks like you do when you collect these. The Bible tells us to avoid the appearance of evil.

18) Do you have a contrary, stubborn or rebellious nature? What does this say about your witness for Christ?

19) Do you have tattoos or are you considering getting them? What do these and body jewelry tell others about you? If we are really Christians, we should not be doing what the world does in fads and other activities.

20) Do you gamble? What are you telling God and others when you do this? That God cannot meet your needs, you have to get money by doing this practice.

21) Do you indulge in the entertainment or eat at the casino? Even though you are not gambling, it will look like you are because of your location. Is this the witness you want to portray to the world? Someone may see you there whom you know and not bother to ask if you were gambling, just assume, and this could stumble someone in the faith. Romans 12

We all need to give our witness a tune-up from time to time. These are just a primer to help you remember whom you are representing and the effect your lifestyle can have on those you interact with in your life. God bless you as you follow Him.

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