A Shining Example

By: Bradley Binversie

“Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.”
-St Francis of Assisi

I was introduced to this teaching at a friend’s funeral. What St Francis was encouraging Christians to do is to live their faith as examples. Regardless of anyone’s belief system, I found this lesson to be extremely powerful and something that anyone can adopt if they approach it from the right mindset.

As we identify our values and what is important to us, how we live our lives should reflect this. We leave an impression on everyone we interact with, so it is important that our actions and behaviors clearly reflect what we stand for and who we are without ambiguity.

When you are a shining example for everyone that meets you, you will influence people positively. People will naturally be attracted to you. They may even get inquisitive and ask you to explain why you behave the way you do. They may even try to be more like you.

However, if we find ourselves frequently having to tell others who we are, what we believe, what our values are; we’re probably not being the living examples that we could be.

The opposite of this might be “preaching” at, judging, or even condemning others while not walking the walk themselves. Everyone knows these people. It’s confusing because we don’t really know what they stand for.

Walking the walk and living out your values is not easy. It requires a lot of hard work. Have courage. Be patient and forgive yourself when you make mistakes. No one is perfect and we are all subject to bad moments. But if you can strive to live out your values clearly, you can make a profound impact on the world around you.