Ever have someone give you advise that they themselves didn’t follow?
In high school I had this guy in my class take me home a few times in his van. Now I admit that I have driven in some strange ways. My very first job was at Dairy Queen (I love those ice cream cakes!) and my shift usually started at 5 so I would get home from school and get a few things done but I had to have dinner on the go. Sometimes I would steer with my knees and be driving a stick shift while eating spaghetti on my way to work. Not the safest way to drive I admit. Well my buddy who took he home he would drive with his knees. In fact one time he got in an accident because he was peeling an orange and driving with his knees!!!
Now if he were to tell me to not drive a certain way I certainly wouldn’t listen to him. He doesn’t practice what he preaches. In Matthew 23 Jesus said this regarding the religious leaders / pharisees.
1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
Our words don’t have any validity if we don’t do what we are telling others to do. This past weekend Christ revealed to me to live with more boldness and to freely share with people how Jesus is changing me. If I didn’t know Jesus and someone was telling me how awesome Jesus is and how He changed their life yet I didn’t see it, why on earth would I listen to them!? No one in their right mind takes advise from someone who doesn’t do what they preach. How can you sell Christ to someone if you aren’t totally committed to Him?
Don’t tell others how bad their marriage is when your marriage is failing. Quit telling that person how wrong they are when you are talking about them behind their back. Give some validity to your message. We are commissioned to spread the message of Jesus in Matthew 28… it’s a non negotiable for someone committed to Christ. Continue to pursue Jesus daily to give validity to your life in Jesus. People will ignore you and yes they are watching you to see if you are the real deal. We have to understand that the message of Jesus is awesome and it’s too awesome to just tell someone about and not be passionate about Christ ourselves.
My prayer and cry is to validate the work of Jesus in my life to others, and I hope it’s yours as well.