Perhaps you’ve seen videos on the internet of people who do themselves great harm by doing terribly foolish things. They dive off houses into swimming pools and miss, mess around with explosives and discover that they work as advertised, or misjudge the amount of bungee cord they needed to maintain an intact cranium.

We look at them and wonder, “What were they thinking?”

We seem to have some of the same in the Lord’s church, however. Have you seen any of the following behaviors in your brothers and sisters in Christ….. or yourself?

• Talking, texting, joking around, or otherwise disrespecting a worship assembly.
• Neglecting to take part in any of the worship or praise going on all around you.
• Dressing in a distracting fashion for worship or Bible class - Please consider that you are not the only person affected by your appearance.
• Corrupting company - Do your companions become better people because of your influence, or does your character suffer because of them?
• Vulgar, profane or worldly speech any time - Your vocabulary and the subject matter you discuss reflects your holiness or lack thereof.
• Loose morals - Keep your hands where they belong until you are married…..and get married! The world excuses and approves of fornication. God does not.
• Worldly practices - If a child followed you around, would your habits teach him to be a Christian, or a heathen?
• Worldly entertainments - Would you be comfortable inviting Jesus to have fun the way you have fun?
• Godly service - At the end of the week, is anyone able to say that you’ve helped them?

As one lady wisely put it years ago, “you can either be a good example, or a horrible warning”.