Right or righteous?

Too many times we engage in the game of “don’t show, just tell,” when it comes to our faith. It’s easy to be a critic – and that’s why the world is full of them. We are quick with the right words of condemnation of the evils around us, but not willing to show a better way, to walk the path of righteousness.

There is a real danger of sharing the pure truth of the Gospel when we are incapable of living it ourselves. As a result, people reject us and our faith out of hand because we aren’t living a righteous life. Our actions don’t match our words and we slip quickly into hypocrisy. Our desire to be heard, understood and accepted fails as our words are quieted and dismissed as a result of our missteps and misdeeds.

If you have a crucial errand to run, a task that requires a journey to complete and you’re not sure which way to run, will you listen to the directions of a sure sounding person and trust that they will guide you to your destination? Or will you opt to follow someone who knows the way and that you can follow in their footsteps as they travel the path ahead of you? Like most people, I would choose to be shown the way, not told the way.

Can we say, “Follow me in this path, because I follow Christ.”