The other day I was riding on the highway when I saw a man with his arm hanging outside his car window as he drove.
Occasionally he would point with it, or tap the roof of his car.
I found this very distracting. At first I was trying to figure him out, was he signaling a turn? Was he trying to cross over into my lane?
I'm sure he wasn't aware of the way his arm motions looked outside of his car, but it could cause problems as his movements unintentionally crossed into what looked like standard hand signals. He confused me enough that I finally blew past him.
As Christians we need to be aware of how our actions look in the context of the people around us. Often we can do something very innocent in our own eyes, but confusing people so much that they walk away, not understanding our lives in Christ.
Often, in fact, they blow right by us.
Paul was so aware of the people he was around, that he often altered his behavior to be more like them.
He said, "To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." 1 Corinthians 9:20-22(NIV)
Let's keep Paul's example in mind and and watch how our words and actions are interpreted by those around us.
