“I urge you to walk worthy of your calling from the Lord!” This was the passionate exhortation from Paul – that we live in a manner which is appropriate to our privileged positions as joint-heirs with Christ. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing, after all! We have received everything that we need from the Lord.
Paul gives us the characteristics that are to be our regular behaviors as Christians:
Ephesians 4:1-3 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (ESV)
Good manners and polite respectful behavior are not authorized by Emily Post or Miss Manners, but are authorized by the Lord. They are the evidence of our new life as believers. Ephesians chapters 1 through 3 plus Ephesians 4:1-3 give the biblical basis for minding our manners!
Before my lecture below, I played a short little clip from the movie “Princess Diaries” in which the grandmother Queen Clarice gives her granddaughter a few lessons on posture for a princess. She says “when walking in a crowd one is under scrutiny all the time.”
Let’s make sure that when people are watching us, they see us walking according to the manners of our Father God. Be humble. Be gentle. Have patience.
Mind your manners! Please!
Study the Bible with me! 