Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. (NIV)

Maybe you know the familiar line: It's not what you said, it's how you said it. How strange, that our communication as humans is so variable and nuanced that we could actually cancel out the entire meaning of our words by the mere tone in which we express them!

It seems that Paul believes the same can be true of our witness for Christ. He says that, when our lives aren't characterized by grumbling or arguing but by Christ's "word of life," it will strike such a dramatic contrast with the world that we will stand out, just like bright stars stand out against the night sky. How we live, love, work, and serve others matters greatly in how the world sees Christ.  

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But it's the next bit (vs. 16) that feels like a sober warning to us today, church. If I do choose to live a life characterized by grumbling and arguing, I run a risk: that all I have worked for or spoken as a witness for Jesus and the gospel might end up being in vain.  

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It's like how you can say the words I love you, too, but actually be communicating spite and frustration and disappointment. You're saying a certain message, but how you're saying it sends an entirely different one. Could it be that how I carry out the work God has given me has the power to overshadow the very best words I could ever hope to say about the Lord? If untended, could how I interact with my work and people either render my witness irrelevant or, even worse, send an entirely different message than I was hoping for?

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It reminds me of, back when I was teaching, this exercise I used to do with my freshman English class that highlighted the importance of tone and inflection. We would go around the room and each read the same exact sentence: "I didn't kill the king." But each student was instructed to put the emphasis on a different word. I didn't kill the king implied that someone else did. I didn't kill the king implied, perhaps, severe maiming? And so on.  

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Here's the thing: a simple inflection in how you enunciate one word has the power to entirely alter the meaning of the entire sentence. That's wild! But the same is true of our lives. How we live out one aspect of our lives has rippling impact into our entire witness for Christ. This can be powerful, or it can be costly.

As image-bearers of God, we are always sending a message about our Creator, whether we acknowledge that or not. Is he to be praised or scorned? Is he all-powerful or untrustworthy? Is he love embodied or apathetic to our hurts? May our hearts be pierced with this truth today: it's sometimes what we say, but so much more than that, it's how we say it with our lives.  

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Here's the challenge, church: what message are you sending to the lost and broken world around you? If we say Jesus loves you on our social media and then trash on a coworker the next morning at work, I promise you, the world will only hear the second. If we preach all the sermons and write all the devos and pray all the prayers, but have not love in action, we are just adding to the noise (1 Cor 13:1).  

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Friends, may we not be a people who run and labor in vain! As you seek to shine the light of Christ this week, ask God to guide you into conversations, service, and impact that honors HIM in what you do and in how you do it.

Father God, I confess I need your Spirit to guide my words and actions every second. I am so often quick to grumble and argue, but Lord, I don't want that to be my witness. God, scrape away the dross of my heart that I might shine for you in the darkness. Search me, O God, and know my heart today. I trust you, Amen.