The Alpha of Conduct

UV 2964/10000 The Alpha of Conduct

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel
Philippians 1 v 27

The word conversation in the uni-verse above is translated in modern versions of the Bible as “conduct.” Our conduct should be worthy of the good news that Jesus took away our sin and made us blemishless in the sight of God. Since we have so received the grace of God, we should reflect the grace of God in our speech and in our conduct. Since we are united in spirit into one body, the body cannot have more than one heart or one mind. We are to reflect the heart and mind of Christ in our daily lives. This is our reciprocal sacrifice back to Christ to offer our lives as a sacrifice that pleases Him. Our witness for Him therefore is not just verbal but non- verbal, too. Our thoughts, words and actions as well as reactions need to be pleasing to the Lord.

Once we have received the Alpha or the good root of faith in Christ our Saviour and Lord into our hearts, it should affect all aspects of our lives- or our Omega- 360 degrees of our conduct and all of our affairs. When people see us approaching, they should not say to themselves based on past experience, “Here comes bad news” , but instead they should think, “Here comes good news.” Here comes someone who has peace with God, peace with others and peace with self. Here comes someone who has faith in his heart, love in his actions and words and hope in his mind. As messengers of good news, our conduct should be a reflection of the love, grace and wisdom of Jesus just as a postman has to don the uniform of his department to be identified as one authorised to deliver important messages to everyone.

Our motives need to be pure. Our words should be run through several filters before we utter these. Our actions and reactions should not shame or hurt Jesus or the Holy Spirit in any way. If we follow the principles taught by Jesus in our daily conduct, people who are watching or listening to us will see a consistency in our lives. They will know that while it can be predicted that we would not engage with what is evil, the good that we do and can do is not exactly predictable. They will know that our behaviour is not accidental or sheer chance but produced by the churning of the Holy Spirit and the Word in our lives. They will know that our commitment to God rules our horizontal relationships with man.