Credibility: March 23, 2010

March 23. TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY MARCH 23.

CREDIBILITY

DEFINITION:

Capable of being believed; being trustworthy and honorable.

SCRIPTURE:

Beloved, I beg of you as sojourners and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God. I Peter 2:11-12.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

As parents raising our children we constantly stressed the importance of always being credible. Unfortunately most people in today’s culture do not consider the importance of being credible with their friends and acquaintances. When one loses his or hers credibility it is almost impossible to get it back. We taught our children the necessity of being honest, truthful and trustworthy because those were the character traits that would give them credibility. You do not win in life if you lie to or mislead people. The truth will always come back to hurt the one who misleads another.

Credibility is not something that you buy, it is something that you work for and earn. We may be able to “borrow” credibility for a while by associating ourselves with credible people, but sooner or later we will need to establish our own credibility.

As Christians it is essential that our lives are lived in a way that honors God. We are known as Christians and are held to a higher standard by the world. We are Christ’s witnesses in this world and therefore our actions reflect on Christ’s purifying power to enable us to be trustworthy and honest. If we fail in some way then our credibility failure affects God’s reputation. We must earn credibility as Christians by living each day an honorable life. When we take care of our character, by building it on God’s laws, our reputation and credibility will be honorable.

In verse 21 of I Peter 2, we are reminded that Christ suffered for us and left us an example. It then says we are to “follow” His steps. In the Greek the word “follow” means to take the same road. We need to walk the same road that Jesus walked and in turn we will be more Christ-like and have real credibility.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Joshua 24:15.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, help me and my family to look to You as our example for we know that You are without sin and that You want us to live by Your standards and not the standards of the world. Help us to be willing to follow in Your footsteps.