Please God Not Man
"Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors. Even if they
accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and
they will believe and give honor to God when he comes to judge the
world." I Peter 2:12
Many people, at one time or another, deal with gossiping friends,
neighbors, and associates. Peacefully co-existing with such individuals who
like to spread rumor or malicious lies can be a challenge, as the above
Bible verse suggests. Even if you are wrongly accused and the topic of
a hurtful falsehood, let your focus be on God so that your behavior
continues to be an honor and blessing to Him.
This makes great sense since, after all, if we are expending precious
time and energy needlessly worrying about silly whispers behind our
backs by those who may have issues of their own, then our focus is being
taken off God. It is satan and those who are against or anti-Christ that
want us to waiver in and neglect our faith.
The other reason why God reminds us to continue in honorable behavior
is that our lifestyles can be great tools in reaching those who most
need to witness Gods peace, love and wisdom. We can lead by example.
It is easy to be good when everything is going our way, but it is not
so simple a task when one is being unfairly treated. While your first
inclination may be to return negative jab for negative jab, God calls us
to rise to a higher standard.
No, you should not worry about what others may be maliciously
whispering, but please DO be concerned that godly living and behaving is what
you continually strive for.