The Christian Iife | a 6-Day Skate Church Movement Devotionalಮಾದರಿ

How to live as Christ

“Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Ephesians 6:6-7

In skating, it’s not always about what you do, but many times rather how you look while doing it. Different people might all do the same trick, but why is it that one usually stands out from the rest? Skating is about style as much as it is about the technicality of the trick itself. In other words, it’s not always about what you do, but how you do it.

The things we do in our lives–our acts of service, our obedience, the way we treat others–all need to be built upon a correct motivation and attitude. As Christians, everything we do should be done with an attitude of “I am blessed to get to do this for the Lord.” Working retail, an office job, washing dishes, building ramps, pouring concrete, skating, or hanging with a mate–whatever your day involves, your life and the things you do are all for the Lord.

Our life and everything we have is a gift from Him. We live and breathe only because He first breathed life into us. When we show generosity only because we are seeking something in return, or we perform in a way only to gain attention or praise, or when we’re obedient simply to avoid punishment, it is just like doing a decent trick while skating but having whack style. Sure, you may have landed the trick, but it was pretty ugly to watch.

In the beginning of Matthew 23, Jesus warned the Pharisees and used them as an example of how not to act. Whatever “good deeds” the Pharisees were doing were not truly good because the state of their hearts was deceitful and full of pride. He calls them out by telling them, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Thankfully for all of us, the Lord looks at people deeper than we do. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart, as stated in 1 Samuel 16:7. In the same way, we point out a skater with great style; the hope is that others recognize us as Christians because of the way we treat others and how we love those around us. Your style and attitude should not only stand out but should actually validate the Good News that we share with others. As Luke 6:45 says, “What you say flows from what is in your heart.” Colossians 3:23 says to “work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”

Pushing Further

1. Do you find it difficult to love the people around you?
2. Are you striving to be a good person but only doing so out of obligation?