As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world. I sanctify Myself for them, so they also may be sanctified in truth.   John 17:18-19 HCSB

A few years ago, I rounded the corner at my local pharmacy to see a pastor and his wife standing there. The pastor was being very rude with the pharmacy tech and a few cuss words spewed out. Of course, I was in shock to hear this pastor speak this way. I must say that I did not know him very well. He had only filled in once several years prior at our church. I had run into them a few times after that but couldn’t have said that I knew them very well.  I didn’t mention this to anyone else because I figured that he may not have been feeling well. There could have been many mitigating circumstances. I also understand that while he is a pastor, he is human and he was obviously upset.

But the problem here is that each time I had encountered this couple, there were other issues. They had been prideful, rude and slanderous towards others. It’s just not what I am used to from the pastors I have known. I must say it was disappointing.

We are told in James 3:1 that not many should be teachers because they will receive a stricter judgment. The most horrifying thing about one behaving in this manner is that they totally destroy their witness. Where a Christian may cut them some slack, a lost person is quick to pounce and call them a hypocrite. Now this is just want the devil wants, so you could say that they played right into his hands.

It’s easy to look at a pastor and think that he should not behave this way, but what about your average Christian? I would have been just as shocked had I heard or seen this behavior from a fellow church member. As Christians, we are sanctified, we are set apart. We are supposed to be noticeably different from the lost and dying in this world. We are supposed to be a guiding light for them. The lost should be able to hear and see us and want the salvation and the inner peace that we have. This will never happen if we act just like they do. They already have anger issues. They already have problems with the way they speak. They already have issues with pride. What they don’t have is salvation. They don’t have a peace that passes all understanding. They don’t have joy despite their circumstances. These are the things they need and may never receive if Christians don’t witness to them. We can witness without speaking a word, but we must live the way Christ has instructed us to live. We must be imitators of Him (Ephesians 5:1)

When I see someone behaving that way in all honesty, I question whether or not they are truly saved. Only God knows the answer to this. But, when there is a repeated pattern of this it makes one wonder. My pastor says it best when he says, “what are you saved from?” Many claim to be saved, but continue to exhibit the same behavior they did prior to their salvation. They continue to do the same things and act the same way. So, it appears as if they weren’t saved from anything, right?

Simply put Christians should behave like Christians. The problem comes in when there is no true change in the heart. God sees the heart. He knows when we are putting on a good act at church and acting like the devil elsewhere. But the thing we have to realize is that so does everyone else. Eventually whatever fills our heart spills out. We are not fooling anyone.

That pastor and his wife never saw me at the pharmacy that day. I didn’t know if they would recognize me, but I really didn’t want to embarrass them or hear what they were saying.

There are enough false prophets out there in the world. If we are going to be Christians, we need not be false Christians. We need to surrender to Christ, submit ourselves to Him and accept the salvation He offers. We need to ask Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit each and every day so that we do not satisfy the desires of our flesh.

There are two types of people in the world, we the Christians and those who are unsaved. When we act like them, who can tell the difference? If we are saved, it should definitely show.

Have a great day!