Mark 12:13
And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
The life of Christ is the example of how a believer should live, and what a believer should expect to happen to them from those who do not like you. It is amazing that Christ lived a sinless life, helped to better the lives of scores of people, and yet He still had His detractors who hated Him. It goes to show that you will always have detractors who try to destroy you no matter how much good you do and how good of a life you live.
However, you don't have to give the enemy ammunition to destroy you. The enemies of Christ watched His every move to catch Him doing something they could hold against Him, but even when He was being tried before Pilate, they could not take any action or word to use against Him for doing wrong. I have found three things people will use against you to destroy you, and you must protect these things carefully so that you can influence others for right.
First, protect your actions. The enemies of Christ could not catch Him doing wrong, so they tried to catch Him saying something wrong. Your actions are critical to whether people will condemn you or validate you. You may recall Daniel’s enemies caught him breaking a law, a law that told him he could not pray. They hired private investigators to find Daniel doing something wrong, and when they could find nothing to hold against him, they made a law that made it illegal to pray to God. You should live your life in such a way that any private investigator could not find you doing any wrong, especially in your private life. Your actions are critical to being a good testimony for God. If you do right all the time, you will never have to come up with excuses to explain your actions away.
Second, protect your words. They could not catch Christ doing wrong, so they tried to catch Him saying something wrong. Sometimes, it is not that you do anything wrong, but you say things that are wrong. You must protect your words so that you don't say something that others can use to destroy your ability to be a testimony for Christ. Never say things that are off-color, accusatory of others, or retaliatory. You can protect yourself from saying something that could be taken wrong by being slow to speak. Instead of quickly saying what you are thinking, stop and wait to say what should be said instead of just answering quickly. I have learned that being slow to speak, deliberate in what I say, and only speaking about things that are in my purview is the greatest way to keep me from saying something wrong.
Third, protect your spirit. Jesus always had a good spirit, and they could not use His spirit against Him to influence others from following Him. You can do everything right, and say everything right, but if you have a bad or negative spirit, it will destroy your ability to influence others despite you doing right and speaking the truth. Your spirit is often the curb appeal to whether people want what you have to offer. If you have a bad spirit, it will not matter that what you have will benefit them, because your spirit has run them off. Protect your spirit from being negative or bad, and your spirit will draw people in to see the good you have to offer them from Christ. We all have a bad day, but you don't have to have a bad spirit every day. Realize a good spirit helps people to see a good life that draws them to want to hear the words of truth you give so their lives can be changed for the good.
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