I am sure that most of us have heard that phrase before, and I am confident that we are pretty clear on the meaning. Others will look at how we are conducting ourselves more than they will listen to our words. It is important for us to always act according to God’s plan as we never know who is watching, and frankly, God is always watching.
“11But when Cephas cam to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.” – Galatians 2:11-13 (ESV)
In and of itself, Peter (Cephas) was not doing anything that was outside of the gospel. As with the death of Christ on the cross, the Jewish laws and customs were not what justified one in the eyes of God. So eating with the Gentiles was not the issue being addressed by Paul as we might think. It was the doing so when no one was around to see him do it and then when men of the Jewish church came around, he “came back” to the Jewish law to “be seen as right” in the eyes of those from the church.
This is not secluded to the church and in the eyes of Christ. I see this in the business world as often, if not more, than I see in my dealings with those from the church. It is a matter of integrity. What makes it even worse in the business world is that it is considered a common practice and accepted.
“14But when I saw that their conduct was not it step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentile to live like Jews?’” – Galatians 2:14 (ESV)
Thankfully, Paul calls Peter out and hold him to account for his actions. Paul makes it very clear to Peter, and everyone else, that his actions are not in accordance with his words. We cannot expect someone to do things in the way that we expect, if we are acting contrary to those expectations ourselves. This is the matter of integrity and having a lack of it is severely negatively impacting to the further of what is expected.
We are to not only be speakers of the truth, but we must act in the way that shows the truth. And those actions are all the time, not just when the “important” people are watching, because the most important, GOD, is always watching and knows our every move and more importantly, our motives.
What are some things that you are currently doing that may be contrary to what you expect to be the right thing to do? How are you acting differently in the presence of the “important” people? Are your actions speaking louder than your words as you travel this world working for Christ?
Trevor's Thoughts 