Daily Devotional for March 2, 2023

Yesterday, I was at the dealership when the doors opened at 7:00 so I could be one of the first to get the oil changed and the tires rotated on my truck.

As I sat there in the lobby, enjoying the peace and quiet of the early morning, sipping on a cup of coffee, the door swung open, and a huge man walked in.  The service representative said, “Good morning, sir.  How are you doing?”

The large man boomed out, “Not worth a sh%#.  On Sunday, my fu*^% truck started acting up as I was driving to church.”

This got me thinking.

Here was a very large man loudly proclaiming in the most profane language his truck was giving him problems as he was driving to church.  His language and his destination didn’t make sense.  Something wasn’t right.

While it’s not my place to question this man’s faith, I can say he was a terrible witness for Jesus.  Everyone in the lobby heard his language.  In fact, if I was wondering about exploring Christianity and heard this man, I probably would have written off our faith as nothing but a waste of time filled with hypocrites.

The bottom line is, if you are going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk.  Or, in this man’s case, if you say you are going to walk the walk, you’ve got to talk the talk.

In addressing the religious hypocrites of Jesus’ day, he said, “How terrible it will be for you legal experts and Pharisees! Hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs. They look beautiful on the outside. But inside they are full of dead bones and all kinds of filth.In the same way you look righteous to people. But inside you are full of pretense and rebellion.” (Matthew 23:27-28)

Our words and actions reflect our true beliefs.  As the old saying goes, “The proof is in the pudding.”

Prayer:  Dear Gracious Heavenly God, I pray my words and actions draw people closer to you.  Help me be a good example.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

What we say and do matters.

Also, I think that man’s mother needs to wash his mouth out with soap.

I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins