Call me strange, but during the wee hours of the morning this past Saturday I woke up hearing these words, “Abstain from all appearance of evil”. I drifted back off to sleep but when I opened my eyes the next morning I heard it again. I recognized this verse but looked it up for clarification. The verse is familiar to me because I used it when Bryan & I were dating and he would want me to meet him at his house to go somewhere (he lived alone). I always asked that I meet him at his mom’s and leave my car there because of how it looked. The verse is found in I Thessalonians 5:22. It also references chapter 4: 12 of this same book. I am including verse 11 because I feel it really gets the point across:
“And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.”
The Amplified says “that you may command the respect of the outside world”. This tells me that our reputation does matter. We are witnesses whether we are planning to be or not. The Amplified also says “that we may live quietly and peaceably with all men”. When we are grocery shopping, when we are the customer (of any kind), when we are being waited on in a restaurant… we are sometimes the only Jesus they see. I pray that I am always mindful of that!
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