The Mundling Zone

Thoughts, rants, and raves from the desk of Michelle Mundling

Friday, December 21, 2001

Just Do It!

The key word for this subject is "sincerity." What is the sincerity quotient for anything you do for The Lord? When you pray in front of other people, sing loudly in church, pay your tithes, donate to charity, give people your testimony ... is it to show off what you are doing for God? There is a difference between living by example and showing off. Don't show off; just do it.

When you live by example, you do not "make a big deal" out of your actions. You just do it. People will see how you act. If you're being sincere, people will notice it and may even get curious enough to ask you about your faith. If you're "putting on a show," people will notice it and try to avoid you every way they can. How do you expect people to listen to your testimony if they perceive you as a phony?


Matthew 6, verses 1-6:

1. "Be careful not to do your `acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

3. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4. so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

5. "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

6. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Actions speak louder than words. It was true then, and it's still true now. Whatever you do for God in your heart and your soul, just do it.

Wednesday, December 19, 2001

Stop Being Pushy!

I must confess up front that this is more of a pet peeve of mine that I'm venting than it is an altruistic thought to ponder. I feel strongly about this topic because I was "pushed" away from the Christian faith several years ago. I would like for you to read this with an open mind and PLEASE take what is written into consideration. We're losing too many people because of our pushiness. One of the biggest problems we have as Christians testifying for Jesus is that we don't know when to back off from the verbal "witnessing." We are supposed to plant the seed of truth, but any farmer will tell you that you don't keep stomping the ground after the seed is planted. It must be watered. It must be fed. It must be given sunshine. Our sincere actions combined with our testimony will determine whether or not the seed flourishes or dies.

Another thing that we are bad about doing is saying, "Christians don't do this;" and "Christians don't do that ..." or "I'm a Christian! I don't talk like that!" Yes, we have moral standards that we should live by, but we make our faith sound so oppressive and restrictive by repeating those and other similar remarks. Being a Christian is supposed to be a good thing, and we need to show more of that to people if we are going to get them to listen to us and maybe even come to know Christ. If you are in the presence of people who are saying or doing things that are unChristianlike, you should either suggest another topic of conversation, suggest another activity, or remove yourself from the group.

Remember the line, "What would Jesus do?" He didn't push himself on people. He lived his life as he taught. People started going to Him ... and listened. Once you've made it known to them that you're a Christian, don't push your testimony unless you know for a fact that they want to listen. Let people know that you will be there for them if they have questions. Be a friend. Show love, compassion, and mercy to them. Be real, not phony. People will be more likely to listen to you.

Saturday, December 08, 2001

New Computer, Defective CD Burner

Spent a lot of time on Ebay and chatting with friends on Yahoo! Messenger and ICQ.

Had to take my brand new Hewlett Packard xt928 in to a repair shop for a defective CD-burner and ended up getting a new CPU. That wouldn't have been so bad, except that I had to reload all of my programs and tweak the personalization settings again. Windows XP is a bear to learn and get used to!