My life verse is Ephesians 4:1-2
“Lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle.
Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”
A significant milestone is on the horizon – I have two weeks left at work. As I look back on my time at work, I wonder what kind of eternal impact I have had in the lives of my coworkers. Did I display the unconditional love of Jesus Christ day in and day out? Was I a beckon of light in the darkness of this world? Did I exhibit the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?
My biggest fear is that I did none of the above . . . . .
This past Friday at work, a coworker confronted me saying that she heard I had been talking about her behind her back.
I had no excuse. Nothing I could say would justify my behavior because I was in fact guilty as charged. While I felt instant conviction for my unkind thoughts and words, all I could do was say "I'm Sorry!"
What led me to this place of judgment? My so-called work-related stress and frustrations definitely played a role . . . . . However, we all face stress and various frustrations throughout the day but not everyone chooses to speak negatively about others.
During my time in YWAM last year, one of our speakers left us with this thought:
"The ONLY power Satan has over me is in the lies he gets me to believe. He’s scared to death of the truth. He doesn't want me believing the truth and spreading it to others. Choose to speak truth to yourself and others instead of speading Satan's destructive lies. What lies do you need to uproot and replace with truth?"
In any given situation, we all have two options:
1. We can speak negatively about/towards others
2. We can speak life and hope from a place of genuine love
The truth in my situation is that I wrongly judged someone. I put myself on the judgment seat when God is the only one worthy of holding such a position. However, I will not be a part of Satan's plan to destroy others by speaking destructive lies to others or about others. Going forward, I choose to speak life, to build others up rather than tear them down!
"Do not judge others and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, 'let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye." Matthew 7:1-5
I have two weeks left at work. During the next two weeks, I choose to make an eternal impact in the lives of my coworkers. I choose to display the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. I choose to be a beckon of light in the darkness of this world. I choose to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
