
Annoying, isn’t it! Or is it just me? Whether it’s out shopping, eating, or just walking in a public place. They seem to be everywhere–even in waiting rooms. Excuse me, but neither myself nor the people around you are interested in your phone call. Well, maybe there are a couple of nosey people who want to know. Come to think of it, without a doubt there are some nosey people wanting to listen in–but I’ll save my snark and sarcasm for another blog.
This has become more than an everyday occurence–it’s reached an epidemic proportion. And quite frankly, no pharmaceutical company can find a cure nor vaccine to fight this horrid plague. Why? Why? Why? A lack of thinking through? A lack of common courtesy? A lack of common sense? Or could it be they are just take a sadistic pleasure in the annoyance? Probably all four, with a heavy leaning towards the last reason. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, verse 1: “There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth.” (The Message). And as we read that list, you won’t find an opportune time to use that speaker phone in public! OK, so Solomon didn’t know what a cell phone is, but if he did, trust me when I say that he wouldn’t have included the cursed speaker phone in that list.
But there’s another side to this issue that the Spirit has shown me this morning! It has nothing to do with cellularized contraptions. It has everything to do with how we are to live as citizens of the Kingdom. Some seem to think that it’s about looking good and holy on the outside. Can anyone say “Pharisee”? Others seem to think it’s an inward and personal thing to be kept inside. But…Why? Why? Why? Why does it have to be one or the other? It doesn’t.
Ever heard the saying “Actions speak louder than words?” But the opposite is also true–sometimes words speak louder than actions. Sometimes that’s a good thing–when we share the story of God’s Grace in our lives–provided our story is backed up by our actions. There will be moments we need to reveal our Grace Story with our words. But without the obvious actions that accompanies our Grace Story, our words are just as annoying as those poor, pitiful, and pathetic souls who use the speaker phone in public places. Yes, someone needs to hear my Grace Story–AND your Grace Story. Our Grace Story doesn’t have to be a “made for TV true life story”–it just has to be real and genuine.
To be a Kingdom Witness it takes both actions and words! Those first disciples were Kingdom Witnesses because they had their experiences with God’s Grace and they both showed and told with words their Personal Story Of God’s Grace. And their words carried weight because their actions verified what they were saying! So, stay off the speaker phone in public–but let your Grace Story be seen by others–and then you will have the opportunity to tell in your own words, what God has done, is doing, and will continue to do in your life.
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
1 John Chapter 3 Verses 18 and 19 (New Living Translation)