Who You Are and What You Do Still Matters

The times we live in can often be known by the prominent public figure of the moment. This may be the richest person in the world or its most famous actor. It may be the singer of a really catchy song, a philanthropist, an activist or the president of a nation.

Rather unfortunately, for Christians especially, sometimes, this prominent figure may not be a Christian. Or, they may be a Christian in words but not in action. In some cases, the values of this prominent figure may clash absolutely with ours. They may represent everything that is untrue, dishonest, unjust and impure. They may be the exact opposite of what seems “good to the Holy Ghost and to us” (quoting Acts 15:28).

A great example of this is found in Luke chapter 1 verse 5 and 6, as follows:

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

King Herod was one such prominent figure of Zacharias’ and Elisabeth’s time. In the passage above, Luke identifies him as such. He was not a godly man and, in fact, gave the order (detailed in Matthew 2:1-18) for the killing of children in Bethlehem that were two years and under as part of an extraordinary act of selfish wickedness that hoped to eliminate the much talked about infant “King of the Jews” Jesus Christ.

The prominent people of the times we live in may define the times we live in but they do not have to define who we are. They also do not make God any less who He is. Who we are and what we do still matters. The prominent people of the times we live in may exert an outsized pressure on us, our friends and our families to behave, act and speak a certain way but we do not have to bow to their pressure. Our actions and our posture towards God matters and must, as such, be led by God to indeed matter.

God, our creator and the creator of the heavens and the earth, has called us to lead a blameless life before Him. However, too many people get roped into trying to live a blameless life without God. Every day, as Christians, we are faced with a choice. The choice is between being a good person or a Christian as defined by the world today or being a Christian as defined by how our life reflects Christ (see Ephesians 5:1-2). The life and example of Jesus Christ is a model for all to follow and it is a model that can be followed especially when the culture we are surrounded by is opposed to it.

Be blessed.