9-10 This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (The Message)
Genesis starts the story of the flood by bringing our attention to Noah and a few things about him. We very quickly get the impression from what is said about Noah that he is different from those around him. It would appear that not only did God notice that Noah was different but that Noah's community noticed it as well. While we often try to fool ourselves into thinking that we don't really care what others think about us the Bible seems to say that on some level it is important. Given the current trend of American culture having less and less trust for both Christians and the Christian church it seems that maybe it is time to ask how our communities see us.
While we can't ultimately control how others are going to respond to us or what they will think about us the little things that we do make a difference. One of the basic principles of those practicing medicine is, "First do no harm." It could be something that Churches and Christians might consider also. Might the world feel and think differently about us if we took seriously the impact of our words and actions and how the world might see Jesus because of these? Could it be that what we do and say should not do harm to the cause of Christ?
Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:
- Who do you know that has integrity? What makes them a person of integrity?
- What most impacts the way your family and friends sees the church?
- When you see or hear actions of Christians on the news what is your first response?
- If you considered your actions first as doing no harm to the cause of Christ would you change anything you do?
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